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Waw an Namus
, also known as
Waw al-Namus or
an-Namous, is one of the remotest destinations in Libya, located
deep in the Sahara desert, south-east of Sabha and
south of the Harouj volcanic field.
The name also appeared as
Uau en-Namus
as a title of
a book by the Italian geologist Angelo Pesce (Uau
en Namus, South-Central Libya and Northern Chad, published
by the Petroleum Exploration Society of Libya, 1966).
Waw n-Namus volcanic field is about 4 km wide, with 100-meter-deep
caldera, with yellow
sulphur deposits around its 150-meter wide
crater. The volcano is surrounded
by an area of black deposit of ash between 10 to
20 kilometres wide, which gave it its name: the Dark Spot,
as it appeared in Google Earth.
Waw an-Namous is often referred to as the eighth (natural)
wonder of the world - a title also assigned to Libya's Man-Made
River. There are 3 small lakes in the area, which are an attractive
destination for many travellers.
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The name Waw an-Namus means
the
"Oasis of Mosquitoes", or according to other interpretation
"The Crater of the Mosquitoes"
, from the fact that
the surrounding small lakes are infested with mosquitoes,
and therefore camping nearby requires nets or repellents.
It was said that ating raw garlic (crushed in olive
oil) keeps mosquitoes at bay -- just as it is a well
known fact that garlic and onion plants in the garden keep mosquitoes and other
insects away.
However, there are two solutions to this: the first is to
camp at the top of the volcano, near the mouth of the volcano, where there
are no mosquitoes; and the second is to camp in a site located around 40 kilometres
before reaching Waw an Namous. It is a sand site, usually used for camping before
reaching Waw an Namous.
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