Ghat

Ghat is almost as far away as you can get in Libya, and it is very close to the centre of Sahara. Getting out here is perhaps the safest and easiest way to get that far out into the world's largest desert.

The old city is found on a hillside, but as many other places in Libyan Sahara.
The history of Ghat stretches back to the 1st century BCE, first established by the Garamantians (of Germa), as a defense to the south. Ghat was a central post on and important trans-Saharan route, connecting in the north to Ghadames and Tripoli. Ghat was ruled by its own sultan, who was, however, not an independent ruler, but subservient to the sultans of the Ajjer.

Ghat was captured by the French authorities of Algeria following numerous attacks into Algeria around the turn of this century by the local Tuaregs. Even today, many locals speak French.

Not far out of Ghat, the real Sahara begins. Stunning nature with the strangest mountains meet the sand dunes. The beautiful Acacus mountains to the east range not among the highest mountains of Sahara, but are by many considered to be the most beautiful.

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