The Berber Villages of Tunisia

Essentially the Berbers were a nomadic people who roamed the lands of Libya, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco, following the seasons over their time-honoured routes. As a means of protection against others who moved into their territories, the Berber tribes eventually established permanent villages. However, unlike the Berbers of Morocco and Algeria, the tribes in Tunisia had few high mountains in which to hide, so they integrated quickly with the Arab invaders. 

 

The hilltop villages are a good example of their wish for protection against invaders; the ksours (the plural of Ksar, the name given to the villages) of the plains show the initial development of semi-permanent communal living; and the underground villages, which were established to provide protection from the heat of this dry, arid land.