Аужила: Ливияның шөл оазисі және тарихы

Awjila (أوجلة) is an oasis town in the Al Wahat District in the Cyrenaica region of northeastern Libya. Since classical times it has been known as a place where high quality dates are farmed. From the Arab conquest in the 7th century, Islam has played an important role in the community. The oasis is located on the east west caravan route between Egypt and Tripoli, Libya, and on the north south route between Benghazi and the Sahel between Lake Chad and Darfur, and in the past was an important trading center. The people cultivate small gardens using water from deep wells. Recently, the oil industry has become an increasingly important source of employment.

Awjila and the adjoining oasis of Jalu are isolated, the only towns on the desert highway between Ajdabiya, to the northwest, and Kufra, to the southeast. An 1872 account describes the cluster of three oases: the Aujilah oasis, Jalloo (Jalu) to the east and Leshkerreh (Jikharra) to the northeast. Each oasis had a small hill covered in date palm trees, surrounded by a plain of red sand impregnated with salts of soda. Between them these oases had a population of 9,000 to 10,000 people. The people of the oasis are mainly Berber, and some still speak a Berber origin language. As of 2005 the Awjila language was highly endangered.

The Awjila (Augila) oasis is mentioned by Herodotus (c. 484 – 425 BC). He describes the nomadic Nasamones who migrated between the coasts of Syrtis Major and the Augila oasis, where they may have exacted tribute from the local people. Herodotus says it was a journey of ten days from the oasis of Ammonium, modern Siwa, to the oasis of Augila. This distance was confirmed by the German explorer Friedrich Hornemann (1772–1801), who covered the distance in nine days, although caravans normally take 13 days. In the summer the Nasamones left their flocks by the coast and travelled to the oasis to gather dates. There were other permanent inhabitants of the oasis. Ptolemy (c. 90 – 168) implies that the Greek colonists had forced the Nasamones to leave the coast and take up residence in Augila. Procopius, writing around 562, says that even in his day sacrifices continued to be made to Ammon and to Alexander the Great of Macedon in two Libyan cities that were both called Augila. He was probably referring to what are now El Agheila on the Gulf of Sirte and the oasis of Awjilah. According to Procopius the temples of the oasis were converted into Christian churches by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I (c. 482 – 565). The 6th century geographer Stephanus of Byzantium described Augila as a city.

Today the main activities of the people in Awjila are agriculture and working for the oil sector companies, as this area is the cradle of Libyan wealth. The main crops are dates from the many varieties of palm trees, tomatoes, and cereals. The Awjila oasis is known for the high quality of its dates. Starting in the 1960s, the oil industry drove growth in the once sleepy village. In 1968 the population of the village was about 2,000 people, but by 1982 it had risen to over 4,000, supported by twelve mosques. A 2007 travel guide gives the population as 6,790. The Great Mosque of Atiq is the oldest masjed (mosque) in the Sahara with its unique style of architecture with rooms that are naturally air conditioned. In the scorching heat of the summer days the rooms are cool and at night they are warm. The oasis was a destination for viewing the Solar eclipse of March 29, 2006.