Ksar

For the town and commune in Mauritania, see Ksar, Mauritania. For the racehorse, see Ksar (horse).

"Qsar" redirects here. For the QSAR models, see Quantitative structure–activity relationship.

For the television and radio stations that used the callsign KSAR from 1953 to 1972, see Ryukyu Broadcasting Corporation.

Ksar or qṣar (Arabic: قصر, romanized: qṣar), in plural ksour or qsour (Arabic: قصور, romanized: qṣur), is a type of fortified village in North Africa, usually found in the regions predominantly or traditionally inhabited by Berbers (Amazigh).^[1][2] The equivalent Berber term used is ighrem (singular) or igherman (plural).^[1]

Ksar Aït Benhaddou, Morocco, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987

Etymology

The Arabic qaṣr (قَصَر) was probably borrowed from the Latin word castrum.^[3][1]

Architecture

Ruins of the ksar at Timimoun, Algeria

Ksar Chenini, an abandoned ksar in southern Tunisia^[4]

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. Ksur or igherman are widespread among the oasis populations of North Africa. Ksars are sometimes situated in mountain locations to make defense easier; they often are entirely within a single, continuous wall. The building material of the entire structure usually is adobe, or cut stone 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
• Maghreb place name etymology