The salt of Maras is still extracted like in the days of the Incas.

A surreal lunar landscape in the middle of the Sahara: the salines of Teguidda-n-Tessoumt on the Hoggar road, which leads from the Algerian border to Agadez (Niger). The saline water is taken from the source in buckets dug in the salt-gorged sand. The sun does the rest.

This lunar landscape is the saline of Teguidda-n’Tessoumt in the Niger.

The Kakala salines, near Bilma - Kaouar / Niger

Niger - Salt extraction at Bilma

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

The legends are only available in German, French or Spanish
Terrasses d'assèchement d'eau salée à Maras (département du Cuzco). Ce procédé semble avoir déjà été utilisé par les Incas. - 1969

The legends are only available in German, French or Spanish
Dans une vallée transversale partant de la Vallée sacée des Incas, les salines échelonnées de Maras sont toujours exploitées comme au temps des Incas. Selon la tradition, les Maras sont «nés» et partis de la mythologique caverne de Tamputoco avec les quatre Ayars géniteurs de la dynastie impériale.

The legends are only available in German or Spanish
Überreste eines gewaltigen eiszeitlichen Süßwassersees, des Lago Minchin, sind die beiden großen Salzpfannen des bolivianischen Altiplano, die Salare von Coipasa und Uyuni (Bild). Infolge der Niederschlagsarmut fehlende Zuflüsse und große Lufttrockenheit haben die einstigen Süßwasserseen zu flachen Lagunen und Salzpfannen eingedampft, deren Ufer von Kochsalzlagern gesäumt sind. In Blöcke geschnitten, wird das blütenweiße und als besonders rein geltende Salz mit Lastwagen in die Verbrauchsgebiete transportiert. - 1976

The legends are only available in German or Spanish
Überreste eines gewaltigen eiszeitlichen Süßwassersees, des Lago Minchin, sind die beiden großen Salzpfannen des bolivianischen Altiplano, die Salare von Coipasa (Bild) und Uyuni. Infolge der Niederschlagsarmut fehlende Zuflüsse und große Lufttrockenheit haben die einstigen Süßwasserseen zu flachen Lagunen und Salzpfannen eingedampft, deren Ufer von Kochsalzlagern gesäumt sind. In Blöcke geschnitten, wird das blütenweiße und als besonders rein geltende Salz mit Lastwagen in die Verbrauchsgebiete transportiert. - 1976

The Idjil salt mine is located near the present-day town of F'dérik. The fact that the salt layers begin under a top layer only 1 metre thick made it easier for the Moorish Azarzir to mine salt. The very pure rock salt is mined in the form of trapezoidal ingots weighing 20 to 40 kg and is mainly sold in Atar, Chinguetti, Ouadane, Tidjikja and Ayoûn el-Atroûs. Due to competition from sea salt, which can be produced cheaply in the Senegalese salt pans of Kaolack, the formerly sought-after Idjil rock salt was increasingly pushed out of the market. - Mauritania - 1968

A Moor working in the Idjil salt mine near the present-day town of F'dérik. - Mauritania - 1968

Séguédine, the old salt town. It used to be called Sogodem and derived its wealth from the salt mines. Today it is a slowly dying oasis on the edge of the Ténéré. A few sedentary people, the Kanouri, lead a destitute existence here. – Kaouar – Niger – 1966

In Bilma, salt is extracted using a very old method, by evaporating the brine in holes. - Kaouar - Ténéré - Niger - 1975

In Bilma, salt is extracted using a very old method, by evaporating the brine in holes. In the background you can see salt domes and resting dromedaries before they set off with the Azalaï to Agadez. - Kaouar - Ténéré - Niger - 1968

Salt worker at the Kalala salt works near Bilma. - Kaouar - Ténéré - Niger - 1975

Bilma, an important town in the Kaouar, owes its peculiar social and commercial traditions to its difficult geographical location. The picture shows a woman shaping "salt loaves", so-called "household packs". In fact, this quantity is used by families as a unit of account, much like the sugar stick, and it is remarkable that consumers often do not know the weight of either. More extensive forms of trade are brought by caravans to Agadez and are mainly used for animals. - Kaouar - Ténéré - Niger - 1968

The grey-yellow kantu, which are produced in cone form as cattle salt and weigh about 25 kg, are reminiscent of slightly oversized traffic pylons. The shape comes from the fact that hollowed-out palm stalks serve the salt workers as moulds for drying the salt. About three quarters of the salt produced is made as Kantu salt. - Bilma - Kaouar - Ténéré - Niger - 1968

The grey-yellow kantu, which are produced in cone form as cattle salt and weigh about 25 kg, are reminiscent of slightly oversized traffic pylons. The shape comes from the fact that hollowed-out palm stalks serve the salt workers as moulds for drying the salt. Another product form of salt is the so-called fotschi (foschi) (in the background), salt loaves shaped by women in enamel bowls, weighing up to about 2 kg and mostly consisting of beza, crystallised, relatively pure salt that is used as table salt. About three quarters of the salt produced is kantu salt, one quarter is beza salt. - Bilma - Kaouar - Ténéré - Niger - 1975

The grey-yellow kantu, which are produced in cone form as cattle salt and weigh about 25 kg, are reminiscent of slightly oversized traffic pylons. The shape comes from the fact that hollowed-out palm stalks serve the salt workers as moulds for drying the salt. About three quarters of the salt produced is made as Kantu salt. - Bilma - Kaouar - Ténéré - Niger - 1968

Packing the blocks requires a special skill and is done while the traders discuss the terms of the trade. Once an agreement is reached, the salt blocks are loaded onto the camels. - Bilma - Kaouar - Ténéré - Niger - 1975

Packing the blocks requires a special skill and is done while the traders discuss the terms of the trade. Once an agreement is reached, the salt blocks are loaded onto the camels. - Bilma - Kaouar - Ténéré - Niger - 1968

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

The Tamanroya salt flats are located in the Jeneponto district of South Sulawesi, Indonesia. Jeneponto is considered the centre of national salt production and is known for its extensive salt fields (Indonesian: tambak garam), which are used for both economic and tourist purposes. – 1990

Photo Gallery