Niger - salt caravan (Azelaï) between Bilma and Agadez

Azalaï is the name given to the caravans that transport salt from Bilma to Agadez. The route is strenuous and dangerous even for the dromedaries, as proved by this skeleton in the foreground.

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

The minaret of Agadez

«The palm of the hand does not overshadow the sun» (Tuareg proverb)

Salt mines
A lunar landscape in the middle of the Sahara: the salt mines of Tegguidda-n-Tessoum on the Hoggar road leading from the Algerian border to Agadéz in Niger. The saline water is led from the spring to salt-soaked sand pools. The sun does the rest of the work. As soon as the water has evaporated, the women collect the salt in large calabashes.
Niger -Tegguida-n-Tessoum - 1968

Malem
The malem is the master of the fire, the blacksmith. These artisans produce silver jewelery, weapons or camel harnesses. Here, the malem finishes a woman's bracelet.
Niger - Agadés - 1968

Two Tuareg mime a fight with the takuba, the sword of the noble. As former warriors, the Tuareg are often homesick for their past. In their secret thoughts they revive the memory of the former rezzous, raids against the caravans that brought slaves and gold up from the south. - Algeria - 1962

Agadez in Niger is an important town, overlooked by a strange mosque 30 metres high. The houses are built of brown mud bricks. Agadez is the administrative capital of the Aïr mountain region. – Niger - 1968

«Modern» Tuareg woman in the streets of Agadez. The coloured umbrella protects from the sun and gives great dignity. – Niger - 1966

The interior of a house in Agadez (Niger). The women are admirably skilled in leather handicrafts, which they decorate with geometric patterns. These leather pieces are assembled into a tasufra, a sack that is hung on the camel's saddle and filled with clothes and various utensils when moving around. – Niger - 1966

The blacksmith, the malem, is the master of fire. He makes the silver jewellery, the weapons, the camel harnesses. Here the malem is putting the finishing touches to a woman's bracelet. The blacksmiths form a caste of their own. They are despised and at the same time feared by sedentary and nomadic people. – Niger - 1966

Tuareg girl from In Abangarit, northwest of Agadez - Niger - 1966

This flooded moonscape is the Taggui-da-n'Tessoum saltworks in Niger ... Lye stagnates in every hole, which yields the valuable salt through evaporation. The European who visits the place for the first time, however, cannot help but notice the pestilential stench of the greenish waters standing in the sun, and he will also notice that certain insects seem to adapt to the salt content. Be that as it may, the workers employed in this industry have legs covered with ulcers caused by the brine in which they wade up to their knees. There are different qualities of salt, and it comes in several forms, from lumps to patties to ingots. Chemically, it is rarely very pure. As a vital substance for humans and animals, salt remains one of the products that justify the last caravans. It serves as highly valued barter money. – Niger – 1966

Salt mines of Tegguiddan-Tessoum in the northwest of Agadez, Niger. Salt mixed with earth is extracted from the surrounding salt pans and dissolved in water, in this type of salt pans. Once the water has evaporated, the salt is collected by the women in wide gourds. – Niger – 1966

Tegguiddan-Tessoum. Salt extraction is gruelling work under the Saharan sun. – Niger – 1966

Salt mines of Tegguiddan-Tessoum in the northwest of Agadez, Niger. Salt mixed with earth is extracted from the surrounding salt pans and dissolved in water, in this type of salt pans. Once the water has evaporated, the salt is collected by the women in wide gourds. – Niger – 1966

This young Peul wears the typical hat of the Zinder region - Southern Niger - 1970

South of Agadez, on the road to Zinder, lies the village of Tanout. Members of sub-groups of the Kanuri, Fula (Peul) and Tuareg ethnic groups live in this area, all of them mainly practising agropastoralism. This Peul-Bororo woman radiates beauty and elegance. - Tanout - Niger - 1970

An Azalaï, a salt caravan, is still travelling between Bilma and Agadez. But for how much longer? Soon they will be completely replaced by lorries. - Adrar Madet - Niger - 2002

The caravan forms up for departure. - Adrar Madet - Niger - 2002

About 40 kilometres from Agadez, we meet a salt caravan marching from Bilma to Agadez - Niger - Aïr - 1999

On the track from Agadez to Bilma we meet a caravan of around 1000 dromedaries travelling to Libya - Niger - Aïr - 1999

Photo Gallery