{{Short description|Type of fortified village in North Africa}} {{About||the town and commune in Mauritania|Ksar, Mauritania|the racehorse|Ksar (horse)}} {{Redirect|Qsar|the QSAR models|Quantitative structure–activity relationship}} {{for|the television and radio stations that used the callsign '''KSAR''' from 1953 to 1972|Ryukyu Broadcasting Corporation}} [[Image:Aït Benhaddou1 (js).jpg|thumb|Ksar Aït Benhaddou, Morocco, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987]] '''Ksar''' or '''qṣar''' ({{Langx|ar|قصر|translit=qṣar}}), in plural '''ksour''' or '''qsour''' ({{Langx|ar|قصور|translit=qṣur|links=no}}), is a type of fortified village in North Africa, usually found in the regions predominantly or traditionally inhabited by Berbers (Amazigh).<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":3">{{Cite journal |last=Golvin |first=Lucien |date=1989 |title=Architecture berbère |url=https://journals.openedition.org/encyclopedieberbere/2582 |access-date=11 September 2023 |journal=Encyclopédie berbère |volume=6 |pages=865–877 |doi=10.4000/encyclopedieberbere.2582 }}</ref> The equivalent Berber term used is ''{{Transliteration|ber|ighrem}}'' (singular) or {{Transliteration|ber|igherman}} (plural).<ref name=":0">{{Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition|volume=12|title=Ḳaṣr|last=Van Staëvel|first=J.-P.}}</ref>
== Etymology == The Arabic ''qaṣr'' ({{Lang|ar|قصر}}), frequently pronounced {{Transliteration|ar|qṣar}} in the Maghreb, was probably borrowed from the Latin word {{Lang|la|castrum}}.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{cite book |first1=Hans |last1=Wehr |first2=J. M. |last2=Cowan |title=A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic |edition=Third |location=Ithaca, N.Y. |publisher=Spoken Language Services |page=768 }}</ref>
== Locations == Ksour or igherman are widespread among the oasis populations of North Africa, found in Tunisia,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Flac |first=Ser |date=2026-02-10 |title=Ksar Ouled Soltane |url=http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/ksar-ouleds |access-date=2026-02-15 |website=Atlas Obscura |language=en}}</ref> Algeria,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Guessar |first=Souad |last2=Abdeldjebar |first2=Hadja Mama |date=2023-10-06 |title=Preserving the Old Ksar of Beni-Abbes- Algeria |url=https://migrationletters.com/index.php/ml/article/view/4423 |journal=Migration Letters |language=en |volume=20 |issue=S7 |pages=. 620–628 |doi=10.59670/ml.v20iS7.4423 |issn=1741-8992}}</ref> and Libya,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Samakie |first=Abdulmnam |title=Ksar Nalut {{!}} Archiqoo |url=https://archiqoo.com/locations/ksar_nalut.php |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20260202200652/https://archiqoo.com/locations/ksar_nalut.php |archive-date=2026-02-02 |access-date=2026-02-15 |website=archiqoo.com |language=en}}</ref> and are also found on the Djado Plateau and in the commune of Fachi in Niger.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-06-05 |title=Mystery of the desert: The lost cities of the Nigerien Sahara |url=https://www.france24.com/en/video/20230605-mystery-of-the-desert-the-lost-cities-of-the-nigerien-sahara |access-date=2026-02-15 |website=France 24 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Photos: The lost cities of the Nigerien Sahara |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2023/6/4/mystery-of-the-desert-lost-cities-of-the-nigerien-sahara |access-date=2026-02-15 |website=Al Jazeera |language=en}}</ref> They are sometimes situated in mountain locations to make defense easier; they often are entirely within a single, continuous wall.
== Architecture == {{Unsourced section|date=September 2023}} [[File:Ksar of Ighzer 01.jpg|thumb|Ksar Ighzer near Timimoun, Algeria]] [[File:Matmata 00.JPG|thumb|Ksar Chenini, an abandoned ksar in southern Tunisia<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Binous |first1=Jamila |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wT7dBAAAQBAJ |title=Ifriqiya: Thirteen Centuries of Art and Architecture in Tunisia |last2=Baklouti |first2=Naceur |last3=Ben Tanfous |first3=Aziza |last4=Bouteraa |first4=Kadri |last5=Rammah |first5=Mourad |last6=Zouari |first6=Ali |publisher=Museum With No Frontiers & Ministry of Culture, the National Institute of Heritage, Tunis |year=2010 |isbn=9783902782199 |edition=2nd |series=Islamic Art in the Mediterranean |location= |pages=269 |language=en |chapter=X.6 Chénini (of Tataouine)}}</ref>]] Ksour in the Maghreb typically consist of attached houses, often having a fortified communal granary like those in Algeria, or the ghorfa and agadir types known in Tunisia and Morocco respectively, beside other structures like a mosque, hammam, oven, and shops.
The building material of the entire structure usually is adobe, or cut stone, desert salt and adobe. The idea of the ksar as a granary is a confused notion of two things: the granary itself, found within a ksar, and the ksar, a village, typically with granaries within it. Ksars form one of the main manifestations of Berber architecture.
==See also== * Alcázar * List of ksour in Tunisia * Ribat
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons category|Ksour}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20100513091209/http://ksour-tunisiens.com/ www.ksour-tunisiens.com] – complete documentation of all ksour of southern Tunisia, Herbert Popp & Abdelfettah Kassah {{Ksars of Africa}} {{Fortifications}} {{Islamic architecture}}
Category:Ksars Category:Arabic words and phrases Category:Arabic fortifications Category:Berber architecture Category:Fortifications by type Category:Sahara Category:Castles Category:Ribats