Kabaw is a Berber village-fort on Nafousa Mountain in Gharyan province of Libya. This ancient mountain village is famous for its 700 years old four or five stroies high qasr (meaning a palace, castle or a fortress). People used this qasr both as a shelter and a storage for their oil, grain, and water. The entrance of the castle is through a gate in the south of the building.
There was also a guards room by the entrance where the guard kept the keys to all the storage rooms. This ensured the safety of each individual or family’s goods in their private rooms. So, in a way, the castle in Kabaw served like a bank. The castle was built out of stones, gypsum and red mud, and the roof was built with palm trunks and olive branches. There are about 103 rooms in the castle, and 89 of them are still in good condition. There is also a cistern under the castle, collecting and storing rain water coming from the roof.
