Housing And Archetecture.

There are three types of houses in Ajdabiya . the first , the regular blocks , but in Ajdabiya there's no building higher than 5 stories level. There's no legislation banning it , but I don't know what's the reason for this .. maybe because of that when these blocks were built , in the mid 70's & 80's .. inhabitants were much fewer than now. No elevators are used in these four roofs buildings.

This kind of buildings can be built only by the state . buying an apartment in one of those buildings gonna cost you something between 10 to 15.000 Libyan Dinars . depending on in what floor is the apartment and how many rooms in it.

The second type of houses in Ajdabiya , is the old traditional house , known locally as the (Arab style ) . ..it can only be one roof . because in the middle it's open to the sun and fresh air. People tend to sell these houses or , offer it to be rented when get to be in better houses . this style considered the cheapest and oldest from the other two styles.

Houses on the Arab style are mainly in the most poor areas in the city . people are gradually deserting them , only the poorest families or the young people who have been married recently or expatriates , live in this kind of houses here in Ajdabiya . people hate it , and you can easily understand why ..poor neighborhoods , almost ..no infrastructure , streets are dusty and not paved in the first place , the building process in these neighborhoods is unplanned for it by the state or any other institution.

The third style of the houses , is the most inhabited one . this style known locally as ( Villas ) it's not actually villa , but close enough. It's the most expensive type to buy or build , and definitely the most favored type of houses here in Ajdabiya . It's every young man's dream to own one of these houses ( even first of getting a wife ..!!! ) . why this kind is the Ajdabiyans favorite type of houses ? Well there're many reasons for that . first , it has a lot of space , something that big Ajdabiyan families can use! And it's independent, can be configured according to everyone's taste. and you can add other roofs to it as you like if you have the money for that.

In the social occasions and events Libyan families get to be together, you know like weddings , funerals , babies birth ..etc.. which creates a big trouble if you live in apartment ...there's always something missing for the Libyan family who lives in an apartment.Due to the lack of space,a dilemma completely solved in the (villas ) style .

It maybe useful to say, that all the types of houses mentioned above are deeply affected in the way they are designed , by the social system here !! and to some extend , by the religion . for instance , men are separated from women ..! men from outside the family would stay in the men's room known as ( Marboua'a ), which will be in the same place no matter what is the type of the house, and that's the first room to meet you when you inter any Libyan house. deep inside you can find where the women can stay when come to visit, and that would be in the women's room known as ( living room ). confusing right ...? I know ..!!

In addition to these three types of houses in Ajdabiya , there are hundreds maybe thousands of nomads who still to this very day live in tents the same way their ancestors did for more than 14 centuries ago!

The camps of tents can be found in the surrounding areas of Ajdabiya . especially to the east and north east also the west of the city. The life-style of those people hasn't been changed for more than 14 centuries , but if you really concentrated long enough , maybe you can find some tiny microscopic changes. like using matches to set the fire ..!! wearing shoes ..!!

Children go with the cattle to the prairie , from the early morning until the mid-day , then they would get back to take the cattle there again and back with the sunset. Those kids mostly will leave school in the sixth grade , for many reasons ..their parents don't mind if the kids leave school anyway.!! and other reason is that in their area mostly no schooling higher than elementary or preparatory in best cases.

Unlike the situation in the city ,young people here can easily get married , because all it takes is some money for the wedding , which he can get from selling some cheep ..!!and to build his own tent , which costs him nothing . kids will build their tents next to their parents (the groom parents of course!!).

The next generation will repeat the same circle ... if you got the chance to see those nomads or even to meet them ..where they live , you really gonna understand what I mean about the Time Machine experience.

Youcef Marzooq Youcef