Houn

Infobox Settlement
official_name =Houn
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native_name = هون
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latd=29|latm=07|lats=16 |latNS=N
longd=15|longm=56|longs=25|longEW=E
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Houn is an oasis town in Libya, also the capital of the Al Jufrah municipality, on the halfway between Sebha and the Mediterranean coast. The modern Houn dates back to 150 years ago. The original town named Miskan, located 4 km. southeast of the modern town, was much older, up to 500 years old. There are ongoing excavations at the site.

Villages of Waddan and Sukna are the nearest settlements. There is a ruined ksar and a couple of mosques in the village of Waddan. All these three towns are characterized by the abundance of water springs and palm trees.

The landscape around Houn mainly consists of black basalt mountains. It is all over an interesting landscape with sand dunes meeting with palm trees in Sukna.

A festival, namely "International Autumn Tourism Festival", is usually held at the end of September each year in this region, where cookies are baked and eaten in the night.

Transportation

There are public buses to the cities of Sirt and Sabha. There is also a military airport located between Houn and Waddan.

History

Houn in Italian Libya

During the Italian occupation of Libya, Houn was the administrative capital of the Italian region of Fezzan, called "Territorio del Sahara Libico". Houn was even the Italian military center of the area, that was not part of the national territory of the Kingdom of Italy like Tripolitania and Cyrenaica (Fourth Shore).

A small Italian community of 1,156 people lived in Houn, called Homs in those years, and they were 3% of the total population of 35,316 of the city in the 1939 census. The most important of these Libyan Italians (who disappeared from Houn after WWII) was the internationally renowned painter Mario Schifano (1934-1998), born in Houn.

The Italian government in the 1930s made important improvements to the small town, that was connected by a new road to the coast.

Accommodations

There is only one hotel and a hostel in Houn.

ee also

*Libyan Italians

External links

* [http://lexicorient.com/libya/houn.htm Lexicorient - Houn, the migrating town]
* [http://www.almouftahtours.com/eng/events.htm Almouftahtours.com - Festivals in Libya]
* [http://www.traveljournals.net/explore/libya/map/m4472196/hun.html Travel Journals - Hun, Al Jufrah, Libya]