here the salt mine has been working
since the 11th century in Tao tini the
landscape changes with the day a
pockmark landscape of tailings from the
hand dug pits where the salt is mine the
abrasive sand grinds away slowly on the
bodies of the men who continue to work
the salt many have terrible sores all
over their feet and hands there are days
when your arms hurt but there are no
doctors here there is nothing there are
men who have bad wounds like this it’s
really hard but what are you going to do
the salt tablets are loaded on the
camels as the people prepare to head out
they will spend about 14 days heading
south to Timbuktu for them crossing the
desert is not merely getting from here
to there it is a process in the Sahara
Desert there is no reference point as
far as the eye can see it’s an absolute
sea of sand nighttime comes and goes
the Sun rises large in the sky as the
caravans move out on these long journeys
the guides utilize skills which have
been developed slowly literally over
generations they read the direction of
the stars they use the orientation of
the sand dunes and tracings in the sand
that marked the direction of the
prevailing winds as they travel through
the desert they come upon well after
well where the caravans stop and allow
their camels to drink it’s the
continuation of a tradition a means of
survival that’s been alive for a
thousand years during their trip the
caravan encounters rain causing them to
stop the rain affects the salt and will
cause it to break if it is not allowed
to dry out they are at least a 10 days
walk north of Timbuktu in the middle of
the Syrian desert down to a liter or two
of
but they don’t panic they remain
extraordinarily cool they send a guy to
track down a rumored well and hope that
the rains have been sufficient with the
little water they have left they brew
some tea they have learned to adapt to
the desert landscape using the knowledge
gained from their ancestors over the
centuries as they get closer to Timbuktu
as far as the eye can see the sand and
the sky blends together the camel
caravans arrive in Timbuktu they very
carefully unload the camels one salt
block at a time they stack the salt
blocks in little Adobe courtyard they
prepare to make the journey back to Tao
tini continuing the cycle of the salt
Caravan
since the 11th century in Tao tini the
landscape changes with the day a
pockmark landscape of tailings from the
hand dug pits where the salt is mine the
abrasive sand grinds away slowly on the
bodies of the men who continue to work
the salt many have terrible sores all
over their feet and hands there are days
when your arms hurt but there are no
doctors here there is nothing there are
men who have bad wounds like this it’s
really hard but what are you going to do
the salt tablets are loaded on the
camels as the people prepare to head out
they will spend about 14 days heading
south to Timbuktu for them crossing the
desert is not merely getting from here
to there it is a process in the Sahara
Desert there is no reference point as
far as the eye can see it’s an absolute
sea of sand nighttime comes and goes
the Sun rises large in the sky as the
caravans move out on these long journeys
the guides utilize skills which have
been developed slowly literally over
generations they read the direction of
the stars they use the orientation of
the sand dunes and tracings in the sand
that marked the direction of the
prevailing winds as they travel through
the desert they come upon well after
well where the caravans stop and allow
their camels to drink it’s the
continuation of a tradition a means of
survival that’s been alive for a
thousand years during their trip the
caravan encounters rain causing them to
stop the rain affects the salt and will
cause it to break if it is not allowed
to dry out they are at least a 10 days
walk north of Timbuktu in the middle of
the Syrian desert down to a liter or two
of
but they don’t panic they remain
extraordinarily cool they send a guy to
track down a rumored well and hope that
the rains have been sufficient with the
little water they have left they brew
some tea they have learned to adapt to
the desert landscape using the knowledge
gained from their ancestors over the
centuries as they get closer to Timbuktu
as far as the eye can see the sand and
the sky blends together the camel
caravans arrive in Timbuktu they very
carefully unload the camels one salt
block at a time they stack the salt
blocks in little Adobe courtyard they
prepare to make the journey back to Tao
tini continuing the cycle of the salt
Caravan
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