Refugees

Children of the fortress watchman at NALUT and their donkey which is hired to carry food at and from the caves. The Larder fortress in the Jebel: Perched on the plateau of a Jebel mountain at NALUT, on the frontier between Tripolitania and Tunisia, the Barbers, still store their meagre harvests of wheat, dates and olive oil in oblong shaped caves hollowed out of the inner walls and ramparts of a fortress built centuries ago for this purpose. Years ago the Jebel Berbers were constantly raided by other tribes who stole their women and animals. Leaving the plain they took refuge in the mountains building this gigantic fortress to house their shiekh and their food. Round the fortress they built a town of stone to house the 6, 000 members of the tribe. During periods of peace they descended to the plain and while the men formed a defensive perimeter the women gathered food and sowed crops. Gradually the Berbers increased in numbers finally outnumbering their attackers enabling them to leave their fortress and resettle in the plains. But the store is still used today guarded now by a watchman and his family who receives in payment for his duties a small percentage of the food stored. Only bits of wire and wooden pegs keep the doors closed, to lock one's cave with a padlock would be an insult only erased by the shedding of blood

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Attackers Barbers Berbers Bits Caves Centuries Constantly Crops Dates Descended Duties Enabling Erased Finally Formed Gigantic Gradually Guarded Harvests Hired Hollowed Increased Insult Jebel Larder Meagre Nalut Oblong Olive Outnumbering Padlock Payment Pegs Percentage Perimeter Periods Plains Plateau Purpose Raided Ramparts Refuge Resettle Shedding Shiekh Sowed Stored Tribes Tripolitania Watchman Wheat

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