Description
Tarat is a fortification in Illizi province, Algeria, near the border with Libya, on a wadi on the eastern edge of the Tassili n'Ajjer mountains. A Saharan Meharist company (from méhari, the Saharan riding camel) was stationed here. 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 large nomadic tribes, the Moors, Tuaregs, Toubous or Arabs. Since the first automobiles could not penetrate these regions, they used dromedaries. As true guardians of the desert, these companies were tasked with pacifying Tuareg territories, topographical work, monitoring caravans and trails, border surveillance, etc. - Algeria - 1962
Description
Tarat is a fortification in Illizi province, Algeria, near the border with Libya, on a wadi on the eastern edge of the Tassili n'Ajjer mountains. A Saharan Meharist company (from méhari, the Saharan riding camel) was stationed here. 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 large nomadic tribes, the Moors, Tuaregs, Toubous or Arabs. Since the first automobiles could not penetrate these regions, they used dromedaries. As true guardians of the desert, these companies were tasked with pacifying Tuareg territories, topographical work, monitoring caravans and trails, border surveillance, etc. - Algeria - 1962
