The mysterious Ksar de Draa in Timimoun in PHOTOS - Top Destinations in Algeria
Ksar Draa, rising majestically, lost in the middle of an ocean of dunes… circular, impressive, mysterious…. A former fortified castle, witness to a rich past... Impressive, getting there is no small feat without the help of experienced guides. But once found an indescribable impression inhabits you, so magical is the place.
How was it built? By who? And why? Many questions remain unanswered. The few people in the region who know it cannot give more details, except for a place that was occupied by the Jews of the region of Timimoun. But what use did they make of it? Fortified castle? theater? or military post say others or rather prison? Its ergonomics speaks volumes.
The Ksar of Draa is circular, made of a double wall, that of the exterior in stone, the interior wall in earth. A single door facing north, rooms nestled in the double wall on 3 levels, no stairs in sight, ladders were probably used to access the upper floors.
The rooms were not communicating. No window to the outside. A sentry with a 2 meter wall surrounds the outer wall.
The mystery remains intact. A legend circulates and more recent this one: in the 80s, an American team landed in Timimoun. They recruit the best guides in the region, gather equipment and food and sink into the Erg of Tinerkourk. They cross a sea of impassable dunes and reach a mysterious fortified castle, superbly isolated, unknown to the inhabitants of the region.
Guides are asked to leave them alone and pick them up a week later. Nobody knows how they found the location of the Ksar of Draa, what they came to look for, what they found there.
Source: websites