A ghurfa village, once the common thing in this part of the country, was the only form or permanent home for a local nomad. Here family could meet, products be sold and bought and conflicts resolved. Medenine was from the 17th century until late in the 19th century an important market town in this part of North Africa, belonging to the influential Ouerghamma federation. Traders came from Algeria and Libya, and sometime even further away. At its peak, Medenine had 8,000 ghurfas. There are two sections of the gurfas, where the touristic one is the least impressive, founded around a square, and all ghurfas are small. On the other side, extremely well-kept gurfas are still in use and lived in. These are also more impressive than the touristic ones.
