Historic Site
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Al-Jaghbub Fortified Oasis and Zawiya
Al-Jaghbub is a historic remote oasis located in the deep eastern Saharan desert of Libya near the Egyptian border. Founded in 1856 by Sayyid Muhammad ibn Ali al-Senussi as the spiritual and administrative headquarters of the Senussi Islamic Order, the fortified oasis complex features an impressive Islamic college, a grand mosque, and fortified mud-brick quarters. Local oral traditions recount spiritual apparitions of ancient scholars, nighttime recitations echoing from silent prayer halls, and protective desert lights hovering over the holy sanctuary.