Salt Caravan
Sahara. The place where the sea once splashed. And now Solonchaki remained partially brought by sands. Centuries back caravans of thousand camels loaded with salt, crossed the continent from the east to west, providing Timbuktu, Agades and other cities of Africa to the most valuable. Salt exchanged on fruit, grain and gold, and one piece of salt was equated to the Gold Block.
Caravan was on the way for many months, stopping on the road in small oases and producing natural exchange there. Skins, slaves, luxury items changed. PIK TRANSAKAR TRADE fell on the IX century and later. She contributed to the emergence of new ideas in art, architecture and religion.
Brilliantly adapted to life in the desert, dromaders were an indispensable assistants of the nomad. This camel can do without water ten days, withstanding temperatures up to 50 ° C, and as a nutrition, it is enough 2 kg of grass per month.
Nowadays, trucks are increasingly coming to the change of predetermined ships of the desert, but two routes still exist: Azalay in Mali, between Tombucht and Toudenni, remote villages in the north of the country, where there are many mines of salt mining, and Thagamt in Niger, between Agades and Thagamt mines in the area of Billm and Fatchy.
A few days of bargaining, loading (for each camel there are approximately 200 kg boosted), and the caravan goes back. With meat drivers goat skins with water and a bag of dried dates.
"Salt of the World" – a photo project about salt mines in different places of our planet.
"Salted fishery" – report on how to produce salt in one of the most difficult and most terrible places in the world, Danakyl desert in Ethiopia.
"One day of salt collectors in India" – a bright photo project from Salon Sambar.
