Protecting a “Red Oasis” in the Middle of the Sahara

In the Sahara of Algeria, a town rises up from the red earth.

Square buildings made from clay jut up from the ochre sand and palm trees, markets, and cafes that dot the landscape. This is the oasis town of Timimoun, a site of centuries-old earthen buildings originally created by a group of tribes to serve as a village, trading site, and fort. The lively town is one of Algerian architect Farah Hadji’s favorite places in the world.

Hadji first visited Timimoun on a school trip in 2009, during her second year of studying architecture at the University of Blida in Algeria. It was a hard time for her—she had just lost her grandmother—but the warm, earth-toned town comforted her. She’s returned almost every year since then with her family to visit the unique city, learn more about its architecture, and urge locals to care for its majestic (but, in some places, crumbling or abandoned) architecture.

“Whenever I'm feeling bad, I have to go to Timimoun, because the community is so welcoming and the landscape is just amazing,” Hadji said. “I can't explain it. Some people have to live it to understand.”

Hadji is one of 20 participants in the Getty Conservation Institute (GCI)’s International Course on the Conservation of Earthen Architecture. This four-week course, which kicked off on October 22 in Abu Dhabi, teaches students fundamentals and techniques for preserving earthen buildings and archaeological sites. Students participate in lessons and fieldwork led by earthen architecture experts and explore ancient earthen cities at Al Ain in Abu Dhabi and Nizwa in Oman. Like Hadji, the students come from around the world to learn how they can bring conservation techniques back to earthen sites in their own communities.

Hadji hopes the course gives her the skills and connections to one day develop a safeguarding plan for Timimoun, so she can help preserve the “red oasis” that’s become her second home.

“I'm a little bit shattered between two emotions,” Hadji said. “I want to preserve [the buildings] and conserve them and make them able to be used and lived in again, but at the same time, it's so beautiful the way they are right now, too.”

Choosing Earth

Hadji’s mother was also an architect who worked on earthen architecture projects in the Sahara. She took Hadji and her siblings with her to visit her worksite in the Sahara in 2006. The first time Hadji saw the earthen buildings amongst the sand dunes was like a “spiritual experience.”

“In Algeria, there are a lot of different landscapes in the Sahara—there is golden sand, red sand, and black sand,” Hadji said. “The one I experienced first is the golden sand and it's just not how we see it in movies or animations. It affects you emotionally and mentally.”

After Hadji visited Timimoun as a university student, she chastised her parents: “Oh, my God, you never took us to Timimoun!” So they agreed to go with her again, and by 2011, they had developed friendships with local residents and began staying with them in the oasis when they visited instead of nearby hotels.

Now, when Hadji visits, she attends workshops at the Algerian Center of Protection of Cultural Earth and Built Heritage and reads books about the architecture in the library.

She also makes time to talk to the town’s residents about the importance of preserving the architecture. The benefits of earthen architecture are numerous: buildings made of clay stay cool without air conditioning and warm without central heating, utilize earth which is already plentiful, and maintain an architectural style that was developed by locals rather than colonizers or outside influencers. But like any structure, earthen buildings need maintenance to survive challenges like the occasional heavy rains and normal wear and tear. Many earthen homes sit empty, with broken walls and roofs due to a lack of upkeep by their owners.

That’s because conserving earthen buildings isn’t easy, Hadji said, and people who own earthen homes may not have the resources or time to make repairs. It’s not unusual for Timimoun locals to leave their homes in the oasis to go to the city for better-paying office jobs, and they often use concrete to make repairs or construct new buildings because it’s more affordable than creating adobe bricks. The techniques to create earthen walls are also fading from the community’s memory.

“I try to tell them you can construct in concrete elsewhere. Don't do it in the oasis, let it be the way it is,” Hadji said. “There are some people who want to keep [constructing with earth], but it's difficult for them because it takes a lot of time and energy, and you need help from other people. It's not something that one person can do by themselves.”

The Future of the “Red Oasis”

Hadji recently started a new job working in restoration and preservation at the ancient Saudi Arabian city of AlUla, but she took a month-long break for the GCI course. The hands-on instruction will help teach her building and preservation techniques she can then pass along to the community, so they can continue the work on their own homes.

“One woman who lives in Timimoun asked me, why do you keep learning about this and trying to preserve these buildings?” Hadji said. “I said, ‘It's what represents you. It's supposed to be you who is fighting for this.’”

Hadji has learned that any new conservation approach she introduces must be embraced by the residents. The red oasis of Timimoun is their heritage and the real key to conserving Timimoun, Hadji said, is the community.