Nomad tent made of animal skins in Sidi Mohammed's camp on the track through the Hoggar. - Algeria - 1966

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

Departure. The women fold up the Issabeur or Assaber, a kind of removable fence 8 to 10 metres long that protects against wind and winter cold. The Issabeur is made of mats stitched together with the long stems of the Markuba, a grass plant that thrives in clumps in the desert. - Algeria - 1966

Targui Kel Rela is a distinguished Tuareg of the Rela tribe from Hirafok in the Tamanrasset province in the Hoggar mountains. The lance has become rare. In the sixties of the twentieth century, gazelles and mouflons were still hunted with the lance. 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 - 1964

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

The tea water is boiled on an open fire. Targui Litni in Sidi Mohammed's camp on the track through the Hoggar. - Algeria - 1966

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

In the camp, life melts away in little drops of time that you sip with relish. Every nomad loves to play. The favourite pastime is a kind of checkers game with stones, some of which are pebbles, others camel dung balls. There are endless discussions between the individual moves. - Algeria - 1966

Tuareg woman from the Dag Rali tribe in the Hoggar. Around her neck, apart from the simple necklaces, she wears a pendant of 14 silver, faceted diamonds attached to a leather base. Underneath is an amulet with geometric ornaments. It encloses a Koran verse and is typical of Berber art. - Algeria - 1966

Agricultural centre in Amsel near Tamanrasset in the Hoggar Massif. When the grain is ripe, it is cut with simple sickles. - Algeria - 1966

The purple mountains of the Tassili N'Aijer shimmer in a mirage of water. The Tassili mountains are the domain of the Ajjer Tuareg, the land of veiled, poor but independent men. - Algeria - 1966

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. - Algeria - 1962

Kel Meddale, a Tuareg Meharist from Tarat in the Illizi province of Algeria, on the border with Libya. - Algeria - 1962

A Tuareg Meharist from Tarat in the Illizi province of Algeria, on the border with Libya. - Algeria - 1962

At the Tarat well in Illizi province, Algeria, on the border with Libya. - Algeria - 1962

The well of Edjef in the province of Illizi in Algeria. - 1962

At the well of Tarat - Tarat is a village in the municipality of Illizi in the province of Illizi in Algeria. It is located near the border with Libya next to a wadi on the eastern edge of the Tassili n'Ajjer mountains. - Algeria – 1962

Nomad tent at Fort Polignac, today called Illizi. - Algeria - 1966

The preparation and tasting of green tea represent the most uniformly performed rite in the whole expanse of the Sahara, where coffee is practically unknown. There is an "etiquette of tea", and the way it is prepared and drunk is followed with a critical eye by the Tuareg. The Targuia of Illizi, Tassili n' Ajjer, stands out as much for the nobility of her bearing as the delicacy of her features. The Berber ancestry is very clear here. All the jewellery she wears is made of silver. The wealth of this "big tent" woman would undoubtedly allow her to own gold, but this metal is said to attract the evil eye. The Tuareg are extremely superstitious. - Algeria - 1966

Feminine adornment. The silver chest pendant is the jewel in a woman's outfit on her wedding day. Its composition and ornaments are always the same. Around the neck: a kind of necklace composed of cloves, whose fragrance is much appreciated by women. - Algeria - 1966

Feminine adornment. The silver chest pendant is the jewel in a woman's outfit on her wedding day. Its composition and ornaments are always the same. - Djanet - Algeria - 1962

Illizi in Algeria: The Touareg woman - wife of Amastan - loads her dromedary with her household goods. - Algeria - 1962

Illizi in Algeria: This Tuareg boy is the son of Amastan, a noble Targui. - Algeria - 1962

Tuareg nomad camp in the Oued Djerat in the Tassili Mountains. - Algeria - 1962

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

The preparation of the tea is a ritual. The water is boiled on an open fire. - Algeria - 1962

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

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

The construction of this hut of a sedentary Targui is only found in Idaren in the valley of Iherir 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

From an early age, the Tuareg boy gets used to the harsh life of the desert. He looks after the camels and the herds of goats, takes them to the wells to drink. When he reaches puberty, he receives the tagulmust from his father, the veil he puts around his head and never takes off in front of the women, not even to eat. - Algeria - 1966

Meharists on a reconnaissance ride at Fort Gardel, Tassili n'Ajjer. - 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 - 1962

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

Two Tuareg couples in festive garb. The woman on the left plays an imzad, the targui on the right has his lance stuck in the sand in front of him. - Djanet - Algérie - 1962

Young sedentary Tuareg woman in festive robe. - Djanet - Algeria - 1962

Tuareg girl from the Djanet region. - Algeria - 1962

The Sahrawi woman makes the "tasufra" from goatskin, decorates it with beautiful patterns and attaches a manual lock made from a leather rope called "sir" to make it easier for the man to open. It is a leather bag with a length of about 1.5 m and a width of 70 cm, which is attached to both sides of the camel. The "tasufra" is used to store food, tea sets and other things that nomads need when travelling. It takes 4 to 6 days to make. Liquids and sharp tools that could damage the camel during the ride are not carried. - Algeria - 1962

The imzad, a one-stringed violin, consists of half a bottle gourd covered with goatskin and a wooden handle. The string is made of horsehair. The bow is a curved piece of laurel rose wood. Only the women play this instrument on festive days. Tuareg poetry is expressed orally. - Algeria - 1962

Young Tuareg woman from the Djanet region. - Algeria - 1962

Tuareg society has a matriarchal structure. This imzad player (the imzad is a one-stringed musical instrument) praises the great deeds of her ancestors as handed down to her by her mother; she is the keeper of tradition. However, the difficult art of playing the imzad is becoming more and more lost. The instrument is made of half a calabash with sheepskin stretched over it, the bridge is made of the wood of the laurel rose. - Algeria - 1962

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

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

The inhabitants of Djanet dance the festival of Shebiba. The women beat the obsessive rhythm tirelessly with their drum, the Ganga. - Algeria - 1962

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

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 - 1966

This targui crushes dates to free them from the seeds. Dates are rich in sugar and have a correspondingly high calorie content. This earned them the name "bread of the desert". Fibre, minerals such as potassium, calcium and magnesium, and B vitamins make them a healthy snack. The content of the amino acid tryptophan is particularly interesting. - Djanet - Algeria - 1962

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

A Saharan Meharist Company (from méhari, the Saharan riding camel) was stationed in Djanet. The Meharists were units of the French army that were supposed to control the areas of the Sahara during the colonial period. They employed regular soldiers, the tirailleurs, and Saharan "suppletifs" recruited among the major nomadic tribes, the Moors, Tuaregs, Toubous or Arabs. The Targui Caïd Bellaï is one of these "suppletifs". He is very tall and measures 2.01 m. - Algeria - 1962

Somewhere in the Tassili, a Targui returns home; and nothing in his posture, nothing in his surroundings, nothing in his clothes yet makes us think that the mineral resources of the Sahara will one day turn him into a man of the distant 21st century. And yet ... ! - Algeria - 1962

In the middle of the Tassili, you can suddenly come across a nomadic mosque. - Algeria - 1962

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

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

The well by the tree of Ténéré. The mediocre water is found at a depth of 36 metres and is brought up by hand by the Tuareg or Toubou men of the caravans. A few metres further on is a second well, but unusable: a camel has fallen in. – Ténéré – Niger - 1966

And the caravan moves on, untouched, it seems, by fatigue, thirst and sandy winds. Never does the leader lose his way, of which he knows every dune, every bend. But sometimes, consumed by his too great efforts, a camel falls as if struck by lightning. It will not rise again. Often, not only must the animal be abandoned, but also its burden left behind if no replacement camels follow the train. And all along the track, white skeletons, slowly buried by the sand, mark the harsh ordeal of the peaceful "desert ships". - Ténéré - Niger - 1966

Camel breeding is the occupation of the noble. In reality, they are dromedaries in the Sahara, but they have been called camels for centuries. Up to the age of three or four, the camel stays in the pasture. Then it starts to be trained. Between six and eight years, it is put to work. Male animals are usually used for the large caravans. – Niger - 1966

Camel market in In-Gall in Aïr (Republic of Niger). As in all marketplaces in Africa, people haggle extensively. The Tuareg are very vain. They often wear bracelets made of stone, e.g. serpentine, slate or limestone, above their elbows. The man in the white gandura on the left has a braid hanging from the litham on either side of his head, a custom typical of the Aïr. – Niger - 1966

Each tribe has its own special mark that it burns on the animals to be able to recognise them if they get lost. – Niger - 1966

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