The spatial configuration of Ghadames is unique. Its roughly circular plan is enclosed by the reinforced back-walls of the houses at the periphery. The street pattern consists of narrow and obscure corridors which are integrated into the architecture of the dwellings at the ground floor level and mainly used by men. Women circulate at the level of the rooftops where they can move freely from one terrace to another. The city consists of seven neihborhoods, each inhabited by a tribe and provided with its own mosque and a central open public space.
Houses have square plans and generally are two story high connected by terraces at the attic level.
The decoration of the exteriors and interiors provides a sharp contrast to their stark whitewashed walls. Ghadames has one of the most fascinating examples of vernacular earth architecture in North Africa. Harmonious balance between public and private spaces. The positioning of the houses are far from casual. Every angle, every wall, every opening in the roofs over the alleyways, are parts of the same organism.