A Day in the Desert

Our day at camp began with a camel ride after breakfast. The scenery was beautiful, as were the clothing of the camel drivers, but 45 minutes was enough time, even with padding over the hump.

Then we got into our relatively comfortable 4x4’s to drive out into the desert to meet with Mr. Amar and his family, a former nomad and now a semi-nomad. Two things changed his nomadic way of life—a longstanding drought, making it hard to find grazing ground for his herds of sheep and goats, and the 1994 closure of the Algerian border, which further limited his access to grazing land and markets for trading. So now he’s been here for six years, and no longer moves around.

He lives part-time in a tent and part time in an adobe structure nearby (no roof), depending upon the temperatures. His son and daughter-in-law and their three children all live together. They have no refrigeration, so they buy what they need for the week at the weekly market, and dry, or preserve meat in oil or salt. He rents his camels for a living and his son is a seasonal worker.

Next, we stopped by a Muslim cemetery right at the Algerian border. Mohamed talked a bit about Muslim burial rituals and a little bit about why the border was closed (some repercussions of the Cold War, look up the Sand War of 1963).

Finally, we visited a school and demonstration site for Gnawa music. This music is a bit like gospel music, in that it arose from black tribes—some nomadic farmers, some slaves.Read more