9GhardaĂŻa, Algeria

Viewed from a distance, the villages within GhardaĂŻa would appear as if a painting by Picasso found its way to Algeria, and became frozen in time

Indeed, Simone de Beauvoir once described the setting as “a Cubist painting beautifully constructed.” Located in the northern Sahara, this ancient settlement consists of a series of white, pink, and red homes set along a plateau. Founded in ‎1048 A.D., the village was originally built to defend against nomadic tribes in the region.