Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1912-04-23
LIFE IN OASIS.
Rhadames, Seat Of Ancient ciViiiza
ton, on Sahara's Rim, Simeon
GtDsnt


Swept.
At that point on the African map
where the immense desert of Sahara
verges on what seems like habitable
country. the Italians are promised the
combat of the campaign, near the city
of Ghadames. pronounced Rhadames.
as the Arabian alphabet has no sound
exactly equivalent to gin. Some
years ago the Turks, under pretence of
religious fidelity. stopped the caravans
from the southern desert lands on the
Tunis route and forced them to pass
by way Of Rhadames. 1t was in
1910, after the French beginnings of
conquest in Algeria. that the Turkish
Sultan diverted the long trains of
slave caravans to Tripolis, making
Rhadames the point of concentration.
As the change benefited the British,
they gave full cooperation To the
measure and thus the city became
part of the Tripolfc province. conse-
Hqnently it falls to the Italians so soon
as they have mastered the rebels"
The administrative authority of the
oasis of Rhadames is in the hands of
a Turkish appointee known as the
kaimakhan. the head of the province.
A council called the Dilemma. consist
ing of ten members, maintains a
species of home rule for the city.
These are selected from each of the
five quarters into which the city is di-
vided. Justice is rendered by cadi.
Education is impaired By "Tolba
twise mem in eight mosques, where
4rl sFaR he &c tom To
sexes, but boys alone are permitted to
learn reading and writing. their in
struction ending with these rudiments
Girls are permitted to learn prayer
alone
When the Italians get chance to
make research among the foundations
of Rhadames. the archaeologists eX-
pect wondrous stores of historical in
formation, for Rhadames is counted
one of the most ancient of cities. The
tale goes that a long time before the
advent of the prophet (Mohammed9.
Egyptian marauders. parting from the
oasis, Jupiter Ammon, stumbling ON
the blooming garden in the desert, be-
came SO enamored of the place that
they quilted their own Nile lands and
settled there to found new city.
Other records less authentic fix the
date of the city's founding i'm the time
of Abraham of the Old Testament line.
In Pliny it is set down that i'm the
country, now known as the oasis OF
Rhadames there lived in the period o:
the Roman empire. or republic rather
la people known as the Libyan. Egyp-
tan. renowned for their enterprise and
handiwork. French savants have
discovered corroborative evidences of
this in has reliefs found under Rha-
damesian walls.
Evidences of rernotest antiquity are
found for miles about the oasis, testi-
flying to the fact that many hundreds
of generations must have occupied the
land not accounted for in the ordinary
histories of peoples. Ruins attesting
forerunners of the Egyptians are still
in fair preservation far beyond the
present city walls. The popular name
for these monuments is Idols" as the
legend runs that they worshipped
idols. The relics consist of columns
wrought from sandstone obelisks of
many varieties of material and tombs
indicating excellent skin in craftsman
ship. Rhadames is surrounded by
high walls and modern bastions erect
ed by the Turks since 140. The city
itself is the most surprising spectacle
TO the civilized eye. The streets are
more like tunnels than highways. for
they are almost entirely covered
This is necessitated by the torrid
sun. for during many months of the
year even the desert folk are incapa :
BILE of enduring the direct rays of the
desert sun. In other hot lands, such
as southern Italy, Sicily. and the
Orient, streets are sheltered from the
sun by excessively high buildings
leaning so far toward the centre that
they darken the streets. but. above all
keep the glare of the sun from the
dNellers. The houses are not built
on any plan known to the rest of the
world. The first story or ground
floor is windowless, probably to serve
as defences in case of sudden attack
from the desert nomads. Che next
| floor is likewise windowless. but is
lighted from above. About the houses
are sunken gardens, and as may be
imagined with the spreading foliage OF
palms. give charming sense of fairy
| land To the surroundings.
Every species of exotic growth
thrives in these delightful spaces. ever
bananas, figs. dates. the products, il
| short, of every exotic country TIL,
| industry of the city is the entertaining
guarding of the caravans and slave.
that meet in this desert waste 70
recuperation preparatory to the fina
assemblage at the chosen marts on tn,
seaeoast. As the caravans max,
Rhadames a station coming and going
there is always season of activity
but this lasts only from October t,
February, when the city falls int
"a somnolence that resembles death
The ten or fifteen Thousand inhabitant
shelter themselves during the scorch