Underground Houses

Most of Libya is very hot for much of the year and summers away from the coast can be unbearable. One solution that some inhabitants found was to build their houses underground, where they would be insulated from the heat.

We visited a group of such underground houses near Tarhuna.

Looking down into an underground house

Each house has several rooms grouped around a central open courtyard.

You enter the house via a large doorway and a sloping ramp.

Several years ago, the inhabitants were moved into more conventional houses provided by the government. However, the people still move into their old houses during the summer, when the underground dwellings are much cooler than the modern homes.