Deserts of Niger

The Sahara Desert is a collection of deserts and the most remote is the Tenere Desert. Caravans have been crossing the Tenere desert for thousands of years. They call the Tenere desert the land of fear. The country of Niger in Africa is one of the most hostile in the world. The town of Adadez in Niger sold slaves one hundred years ago. The salt caravans are the main trade of the center of Africa. Most desert crossing start in Agadez where there are thousands of camels being bought and sold and being made ready for the desert crossing. The tuareg are the tribal people of the Tenere desert. The Tuareg are the nomads of central Africa. They have camel races at Timia where the prize is an ancient sword and the honour of winning. To survive in the desert in Niger you need the help of the Tuareg tribespeople. The legendary Tuareg tribes once controlled the central African region like pirates. The men wear veils and black and blue robes, covered from head to foot to protect against water loss from the sun.

From the town of Timia you can cross the desert by hired four wheel drives and a guide. To the Air Mountains , the abode of bandits, some places where Europeans have never been before. The Air Mountains have baboons. Once upon a time the environment was different. You can see stone carvings showing ibex, giraffes from 10,000 years ago when the climate sustained savannah country. In the villages the ancient art of sword making is still practiced. The Tuareg live a nomadic life moving from place to place with their animals and family. Camels have saddles upon which you are perched high. The area of adra tamgak is at the edge of the Tenere Desert.

Camel Caravan in the Tenere Desert in Niger

The Tenere Desert means nothingness. The camel caravans cross this desert. On their way to Bilma the caravans dump bales of hay for the return trip. The caravan has hundreds of camels that carry the hay on the way out. The tuareg navigate by the sun and the stars. There are no compasses or signposts. The isolated village of Bilma is the destination of the caravan. It is an oasis with massive salt pans. The water evaporates and they make pillars of salt. This salt making has been going on since Biblical times. The purpose of the caravan trip is to buy the pillars of salt and take them back home to sell or use for your own usage. Salt is the currency of the desert. It is very precious and esteemed. The salt pillars are loaded onto the camels for the trip back home. The caravan sets out back across the Tenere back to Agadez. Hundreds of miles with no water. The tuareg robes prevent moisture loss and they drink 3 cups of water per day. These caravans go right across Africa without regard to borders or countries. To the Tuareg their core being means freedom.

Niger Desert Resources

Sahara: The Extraordinary History of the World's Largest Desert - a chronicle of the desert’s nations and people: the Berbers and Arabs of the north; its black African south, whose ancestors peopled the greatest empires of Old Africa; and the extraordinary nomads—the Moors, the Tuareg (the famous “blue men”), and the Tubu—who call the desert home today.

Lonely Planet Africa on a Shoestring - If you're traveling to Africa, my advice is to get this book _and_ the Rough Guide to whatever region of Africa you're going to. If you're going some place that LP's book doesn't cover, look for a specific book that covers it.

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