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| A tree on
the edge of the desert |
The northern half of Mali
is nearly all Saharan desert and contains the vast plains of Tanezrouft and Taoudenni,
covered by shifting sand dunes called Ergs. In December and February – known as harmattan
– sand blows out of the desert to cover the cities with a fine layer of dust.
Sometimes it seems that the sand is trying to bury Mali.
Out in the desert, there
are no roads. Travellers have to rely on guides but few guides know the desert really
well. A good guide may end up taking 80 or even 100 camels across the desert, and a
bad guide can be fatal. If you get lost in the desert, then camels and people may all die.
Even so, there are people who make their homes there.
"As someone who lives in the desert I feel very
uneasy when I'm in Mopti [a town on the River Niger].
I don't like being near the river. I find the town very
claustrophobic and polluted. I can't breathe properly
here ... Everything is dirty here but in the North,
in the desert, everything is clean. You live at one
with nature, and whenever I'm in Mopti I just can't
wait to get back to the desert." Sidy Ahmed
Ould Faly, Salt Trader
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