Nalut: Libya’s most hospitable town
By Rhiannon Smith
Nalut, April 9
Performer dancing on top of another dancer’shoulders while waving the Amazigh flag. (Photo: Rhiannon Smith)
Libya’s International Tafsout Festival of Amazigh Culture took place April 4-6 in the picturesque mountain town of Nalut, high in the Nafusa Mountains towards the Tunisian border. The event was well-publicised and, over the three-day festival, the sleepy cliff-top town was flooded with tourists from neighbouring towns, from Tripoli and Tunisia, as well as a few from farther afield. Nalut has only one hotel which was closed for maintenance so for those wishing to stay a few nights, the best option was to find an apartment to rent.
Hoping to learn more about Amazigh (Berber) culture — until recently suppressed and marginalised in Libya — as well as wanting to see something of the now famous Nafusa mountain region, a couple of friends and I left Tripoli for the weekend. We were expecting some history, a bit of culture and mountain scenery. What we experienced, however, went far beyond these expectations and left us with the distinct impression that finding another place as welcoming, hospitable and beautiful as Nalut would be difficult in any country, let alone in Libya.
Hoping to learn more about Amazigh (Berber) culture — until recently suppressed and marginalised in Libya — as well as wanting to see something of the now famous Nafusa mountain region, a couple of friends and I left Tripoli for the weekend. We were expecting some history, a bit of culture and mountain scenery. What we experienced, however, went far beyond these expectations and left us with the distinct impression that finding another place as welcoming, hospitable and beautiful as Nalut would be difficult in any country, let alone in Libya.
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