Tafilalt: Algeria's first eco-friendly desert city

The eco-city in the Sahara is a 20-year project to make the desert bloom with all residents helping to plant trees and recycle waste

As we drove to the top of the hill, a terraced garden surrounded by low stone walls reared out of the desert landscape, electrified by punches of orange and yellow fruit.

An asphalt road separated this green belt from box-like buildings, with identical pastel-coloured exterior and narrow openings. The city we discovered behind an impressive gate made of palm branches was so quiet that it almost looked like an unoccupied fortress.

This oasis of calm is Tafilalt, a collection of more than 1000 hand-built houses made of local stone. Tafilalt nestles on the top of a plateau that overlooks the M’Zab Valley, in Algeria's southern Ghardaia region.

read more : http://www.middleeasteye.net/in-depth/features/algerias-first-eco-friendly-desert-city-tafilelt-20333139