Qasr al-Haj in the Nafusa Mountains is a stunning structure, almost more impressive if you don't know its purpose. The accidental visitor may think it was a form of fortified village, in which families lived on top of each other, in rooms simply known as ghurfas.

Rather it is a storage facility for a partly semi-nomadic and partly settled community. The qasr protected grains and everything else that might be stolen. Peoples moved around the area carrying only what was necessary for the everyday needs.

Full story: goafrica.about.com