The entrance to a fortified Ksar of Tataouine, Tunisia.

  
   
   
 
 


This is the entrance to one of the 15th century fortified granaries known as a Ksar. The three storey vaulted buildings are made from adobe brick (that's clay, sand and a binding material like straw). It's in the Tataouine district of southern Tunisia. The ksar consists of two courtyards each with a perimeter of multi-storey vaulted adobe cellars called ghorfa.

   
       

The cellars were used to store grains, olive oil and animal fat. The food stayed cool and dry behind the thick adobe walls and palm wood doors. The whole complex was a fortified settlement with only one entrance.