Ksar
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A ksar is a village consisting of generally attached houses, often having collective granaries and other structures (mosque, bath, oven, shops) widespread among the oasis populations of the Maghreb (northern Africa.) Ksars are sometimes situated in mountain locations to make defense easier; they often are entirely within a single, continuous wall. The building material of the entire structure is normally adobe, or cut stone and adobe. The idea of the ksar as a granary is a confused notion of two things, the granary itself, found within a ksar, and the ksar, which is a village, normally, with granaries within it. "Ksar" is the normal form in which the Arabic word (more correctly transliterated as "qsar," singular, and qsur, plural) is found. Berber (amazigh) equivalent is aghrem or ighrem. Ksar is generally translated as "castle" in English, although the simplest rendering might be "fortified village," with the word sometimes taking on the meaning of "fort" depending on its specific function. Particularly prevalent as a place name across the map of Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia -- the Maghreb; and particularly prevalent in the Saharan side of the various ranges of the Atlas mountains.