22 THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 
The mountain in the background is “La Kalaa,” 
great empires like Egypt, Greece, and 
Rome rise, fall, and vanish; yet back in 
the mountain ranges of northern Africa 
are various tribes of “Troglodytes,’ or 
cave-dwellers, living today about the 
same as did their ancestors during the 
life of Christ, and, if Roman and Greek 
writers are to be believed, these Troglo- 
dytes were then considered a curious and 
ancient people. 
The numerous invasions of northern 
Africa, especially the Mohammedan and 
Berber invasions, must have left their 
impressions, but the chief interest to us 
is that the invaders were assimilated by 
the Troglodytes, and that their manner 
of life and mode of dwelling remained 
the same until the French occupation of 
Tunisia. The town, or “ksar,” of Méde- 
nine consists of thousands of cave-shaped 
dwellings, made of native cement and 
stone, superposed upon each other to a 
height of four or five stories. The Arab 
name for these curious-shaped dwellings 
and storehouses is “rhorfa.” 
Photo by Frank Dalyan Johnson 
THE ONLY VEGETABLE GARDEN IN MATMATA, IN FRONT OF THE MOSQUE 
r “fortified citadel,’ where the people of 
Matmata used to live when they were “climbing” Troglodytes 
One ascends to these granaries or 
storehouses by means of projecting 
stones here and there (see page 826), 
worn smooth by centuries of use. The 
natives go up and down with great ease, 
but it would be impossible for one not 
accustomed to do so. Médenine acts as 
a high storehouse for about 20,000 peo- 
ple, semi-nomads, living in the great 
plains, people of the tribes of Ourg- 
hamma. 
The town has been built in great ovals 
or horseshoes, each tribe or district to 
itself to prevent stealing (see photos. 
pages 804, 805, 825). Armed men guard 
these precincts. 
Metameur is another town built like 
Médenine. It has a remarkable ksar or 
storehouse and fortress for use in times 
of war. The women of Metameur have 
always been celebrated for their beauty, 
and it-has withstood many sieges. 
One good harvest every four years is 
the average around Médenine, so that the 
country only raises half enough grain to 
