The inhabitants of Fezzan number about thirty-five thousand, and a nomadic or wandering population of perhaps nine or ten thousand.
The inhabitants are of a mixed race. Their skin is brown and in many respects they bear a strong resemblance to the negro. Their figures are, however, much more finely formed and better proportioned.
Originally of the Berber tribes, they have gradually mingled with the Arabs since the invasion of the country by them in the fifteenth century. Hence the Arab characteristics and language are very marked in their influence upon those of the original Berber tribes.
Generally speaking, the people are far behind the rest of the world in civilization. They spend their time in cultivating their gardens and in manufacturing the most indispensable necessaries of life.
Quite a large trade is carried on by means of caravans passing over the routes between the interior of Africa and the coast section.
Murzuk is the capital of Fezzan. It is situated at the foot of a high plateau surrounded by low dunes, or sand hills, thrown up by the wind.
While we can but admire the picturesque situation of the capital, yet, even at first sight, we cannot fail to notice the great barrenness of the scene. This impression is deepened rather than lessened after a few days' sojourn in the town or in its immediate neighborhood.
Cultivation of the soil is simply impossible, except in the shade of the date palms. Here, it is possible to raise only such fruits as the pomegranate, fig, and peach. Vegetables are very scarce, and the milk of the goat is the only kind that can be obtained, since there is no pasturage for cows.
Murzuk is said to have a population of about twenty-eight hundred people. These we find settled in and about the neighborhood of the bazaar. The quarters of the city most distant from it are almost deserted.
A broad street extends from the eastern gate to the citadel. This peculiarity would seem to indicate that the town is more closely related to negro-land than to the Arab territories on the north.