Niger - salt caravan (Azelaï) between Bilma and Agadez

Nomad children in front of their tent in the camp near El Meki near Timia - Niger

Tuareg women take care of their goats in the camp near Oued Timia - Niger

Waterhole of Eres near Temet, Niger - Canisters are filled with the precious water by the Tuaregs and then transported by camels.

Abakaoua, a Targi of the Kel Tédélé tribe - Symbol of the stubborn resistance of his people, chief Abakaoua ag Kanom is proud of his 72 years of age and wears an indigo cloth covering his head and shoulders, as well as khol makeup.

Every year, regular visitors meet at the Chouffane, a camel riding festival linked to an annual market that takes place at the Tarat oasis on the Lebanese border (Tassili n'Ajjer, Algeria). On this occasion, the Tuareg tribe leaders, who otherwise rarely meet, gather together in one of the tents.

Tuareg girl in the camp of Mechovi - Aïr - Niger.

Exploring - Like a Scout leader, Abakaoua explores the narrow passage that leads to the top of the dunes of Ifiniyane.

A bit of family history - Abdelkrim ag Ahrmed, son of Ahrmed ag Chaoua, is the grand-son of Chaoua and comes from a dynasty of caravan leaders. In the language of the Tuareg, Tamacheq, “ag” means “son of”. - Niger / Aïr / 2003

Tuareg child - Framed by a tuft of hair dedicated to Allah and amulets bearing verses from the Koran, the look of this boy scans his whole future dedicated to faith. - Tezirzek / Aïr / Niger

The two sisters of Toufouchi - Their features are clean; their look, determined. And a firm will is needed to survive in these inhospitable latitudes. The two sisters of Toufouchi look after the goats, cook, fetch water and find enough time in between for jokes and laughter.

Selima and son - Called «cul-nu» by the photographer, the son of Selima hides his tiny garment under the wide skirt of his mother. - Niger / Aïr / Zakkat / 2001

Kids games - When his feet touch the ground, it will be time for the older child to become a man. Then the carefree days of childhood and adolescence will come to an end. - Niger / fountain of Tezirzek / 1992

Tuareg warrior - With a single blow of his Takuba, Boubakar ag Mohamed has beheaded a jackal... what a feat! As the leader of a clan of ten families from the Kel Takriza tribe, formerly feared in the Sahel because of their raids against black farmers, today he is the most peaceful of Tuareg dignitaries – and the one wearing the most makeup! - Niger / Western Aïr

Niger - caravan in the evening light - Erg Izane

Mother and children at the Arali camp site. (Oued Issaouane, Aïr, Niger)

Niger - The Tuareg chief Abakaoua from the Aïr region

At the Djanet oasis in the Tassili n'Ajjer (Algeria): Fadi is playing the imzad. This single-stringed bowed instrument is made out of a calabash and horse hair, accompanied by the singing of men, who tell of war, love and nomadic life without end...

Tea time in the small village of I-n-Jitane (Niger, Erazer valley), in the middle of the Sahelian region.

Sheltered by trees at the Kel Tédélé camp site.

The pantry – or the best way to keep food out of animal reach.

A cradle made of goat leather for little Djamila. (Toufouchi, Aïr, Niger)

Touareg caravan - On their way to a distant water source, the caravan stop before nightfall, and then the camels are fed with the hay they carry on their packs. - Niger / Ténéré / Erg Izane / 2000

Crossing the Tagardet pass in the Aïr mountains.

Near the waterhole of Baloumat, a great boulder offers shelter.

Taguella is bread made of wheat and baked in the sand.

At the edge of the Ténéré, Chef Abakaoua leads the way.

Arrival at the Kel Tédélé camp site.

Tima using her goat´s milk to make a cheese called Tukemarine. (Toufouchi, Aïr, Niger)

Tuareg nomads selling salt cakes at the camp site. (Camp Aouï, Aïr, Niger)

Filling up with water for people and camels at the Takarit well. (Oued Takarit / Aïr / Niger)

«Water is life» – filling the guerba, made of goat leather. (Guelta Baloumat / Aïr / Niger)

Last efforts in the Ténéré before arriving at the well - Erg Izane / Ténéré / Niger

This Tuareg boy´s hair plaits are consecrated to Allah. - Campement Abakaoua / Puits de Faris / Tezirzek / Aïr / Niger

The chief’s toothbrush - Boubakar ag Mohamed does not smoke. He uses this piece of wood, taken from a very widespread bush in the Sahara called the «Abesgouin», to clean his teeth – which by no means detracts from the authority in his eyes! - Niger / Aïr / 2001

Portrait of a young Touareg - Faris / Aïr / Niger

The Tuareg Kel Tédélé - Kogo / Aïr / Niger

Touareg woman at the well of Faris - Aïr / Niger

Targui in a Touareg camp in the Hoggar - Algeria

Aïr / The "taguella" Cooking the taguella owes everything to the desert. The sand acts as an oven, heated by the embers of wood carried on camels.

Erg Izane / Getting into another world The caravan is about to enter a mineral universe that is no longer the world of men but that of an intact nature where only the nomads know how to survive.

Ténéré / The long walk Beyond the dunes of Izane, the massif of Tahmert will be the point of arrival in the evening of a long and beautiful day sailing through the Sahara.

Ténéré / Erg Izane / Stop in the shadow No tree, no rock as far as the eye can see. For the rest of a few minutes, the only shadow is that of the camels, but they can only turn their backs to the sun.

Aïr / Tamgak / The relaxation In the mountains, men finally find the time and the place of a real relax where water and fire get married.

Aïr / Toufouchi / Beauties of the desert In the camps the camel-drivers find their wives dressed with their finest attires, like the sailors on their return to the harbour....

Targui Litni in Sidi Mohammed's camp on the track through the Hoggar. - Algeria - 1966

Targui Amasher prepares the fire in the Oued Touloult in the Tassili n'Ajjer. - Algeria - 1966

A Tuareg woman grinds the grain on a stone mill - Camp Idriss - Dider - Tassili n'Ajjer. - Algeria - 1966

One of the main characters of the festival. The jewellery he wears on his headgear is made of silver and comes from the village blacksmith. - Algeria - 1966

Touareg
This noble Touareg of the Kel Rela tribe is armed with his spear. The spear is becoming more and more rare; it was used to hunt gazelles or mouflons. The tagoûlmoust, the veil that surrounds the head and hides the lower face, is given by the father to his son when he reaches puberty.
Algeria - Hoggar - 1964

Long live the bride
The pectoral pendant is the centrepiece of the adornment of a woman on the day of her marriage. Around the neck, she wears a collar formed by cloves. The scent that emerges is very appreciated among women.
Algeria - Illizi - 1967

Facing Mecca, a Tuareg performs his prayer in a nomadic «mosque». Everywhere in the Sahara, you can find such open-air churches, whose enclosure consists of stones piled on top of each other. - Hoggar - Algeria - 1966

Targui Kel Rela is a distinguished Tuareg of the Rela tribe from Hirafok in the Tamanrasset province in the Hoggar mountains. The veil that surrounds the head and masks the lower half of the face is called litham in Arabic and tagulmust in the Tuareg language. The son receives it from his father as soon as he reaches puberty. - Algeria - 1966

Since there is enough water in the valley of Iherir in Tassili N'Ajjer, the sedentary people can cultivate their fields. - Algeria - 1966

In the Sahara, water is more abundant than you think, but it is hidden, underground. In the valley of Iherir (Tassili N' Ajjer), however, it flows freely, bouncing off the rocks in waterfalls. Iherir is one of the areas of the Sahara where there is the most water. The rocky bottom prevents the precious wet from seeping into the ground. - Algeria - 1966

The water service is women's work. The containers are made of bottle gourds. The women carry them from the well to their homes with the help of a rope tied around their foreheads. - In the El Mihan district, Djanet. - Algeria - 1966

Early in the morning, the Koran school is held in front of the mosque of one of the three villages that make up the Djanet oasis. The taleb (teacher) writes a Quranic verse on a wooden board. The student has to repeat it aloud until he knows it by heart. Since everyone has a different verse to memorise and speaks at their own discretion, you can imagine the relaxed atmosphere that prevails here. - Algeria - 1966

At the festival that concludes the thirty fasting days of Ramadan, Djanet throws himself into gala, dons his flaming ganduras. And then the communal prayer takes place in the cemetery to honour the dead. - Algeria - 1966

In the gilded sands of the evening, the inhabitants of Djanet dance. It is the festival of Shebiba, so called because it takes place in the first month of the year, which is called "Shebiba" in Tamashek, the Tuareg language. The two main characters of the festival, dressed in rich robes, twirl the takuba, the sword of the noble Tuareg. The women beat the obsessive rhythm tirelessly with their drum, the Ganga. - Algeria - 1966

The preparation of the tea is mainly a man's job. It requires all the seriousness of this Targui, who demonstrates his agility by filling the glasses from high up: He must not miss a drop. The teapot is generally the obligatory souvenir that the pilgrim brings back from Mecca. Traditionally made of brass, it is often replaced by an enamelled pot. The tea is always very heavily sugared, and the great luxury is to add a sprig of mint, which gives it a very pleasant taste. - Hoggar - Algeria - 1966

At Jabbaren, Targui Hosseini kneels in deep prayer. - Algeria - 1966

Because of the altitude and the water-retaining properties of the sandstone, the vegetation in the Tassili is somewhat richer than in the surrounding desert. This includes a very sparse tree population of the endangered, endemic Sahara cypress (Cupressus dupreziana) and the Sahara myrtle (Myrtus nivellei) in the higher altitudes in the east of the area. - Tassili n'Ajjer - Tin Abou Teka - Algeria - 1966

Portrait of a Touareg of the Kel Idjera-Ajeroven tribe.
Algeria - Tassili n'Ajjer - 1993

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