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sachara Says: The setting of the Essakane festival in the middle of the white sanddunes is perfect for a camel ride into the desert. So several times I saw people going in or coming out of the desert (picture 1) on a camelback.I love camels and made camelrides on several occasions, even a...
Music and dance in the middle of the dunes
sachara Says: In the afternoon from 5 pm till about 7 pm at a stage in the wonderful setting of the white sand dunes there were lots of performances of local and traditional groups (picture 1, 2 & 4). The singing was sometimes very mysterious, there were local dances and fighting scenes....
sachara Says: In the large festival area we had our campsite 'at the first seat' opposite the mainstage. The camp was just behind the circular dune ridge, used as gallery during the performances at the mainstage (picture 1). At the other side of the camp we had view at the white sanddunes...
sachara Says: For lunch, dinner of a drink I went to a small restaurant just north of the artisan market. You could sit here outdoors in the shade. There were a few chairs and a couple of benches in front of the small white building (picture 1). The place was frequented by many of the...
African sunsets, full moon and thousand stars
sachara Says: African sunsets, full moon and thousand stars, what more do you need? Sunsets in Africa and in the desert are often spectacular. The sanddunes and the camels in Essakane were the perfect setting for the sunset (picture 1,2 & 3). The full moon (picture 4) made it even more...
Desert Blues: Performances at the mainstage
sachara Says: In the evening from 8 pm till about 2 am you could see and hear the great performances at the mainstage. Every time it was a big surprise which artists would show up. The well known Tuareg group Tinerawen announced in the program at internet didn't show up. Also Zap Mama...
From Timbuktu to Essakane by 4x4
sachara Says: We planned to leave from Timbuktu for the festival at 10 am, but the evening before we heard we should leave first at 2 pm in the second convoy of 4x4's of the tour agency. I was not unhappy about that, so we got the possibility to visit the old town of Timbuktu in the...
sachara Says: In the central part of the festival area was an artisan market with many small stalls. Here you could look for Tuareg jewellery, the tagelmust or veil in indigo or other colours, colourful blankets and cloth, but also for cd's of Ali Farka Toure, Tinerawen, Habib Koite and...
Kel Tamasheq, the masters of the desert
sachara Says: The Festival au Desert in Essakane is originally a Tuareg festival where several clans from the region meet each other. At the 9th festival in 2009 also the Tuareg clans gathered and many came with their camels. I could still feel the spirit of the proud 'the masters of the...
sachara Says: Tuareg men veil traditionally their face (picture 1, 2 & 3). Their veil is called tagelmust. It is a good protection against the harsh desert sands, but it is also meant to give protection against evil spirits. Most of the Tuareg men wear indigo robes and turbans. A Tuareg...
sachara Says: At the festival in Essakane I was invited by Mohamed Alher to drink tea with him. So I did several times. He told me he is an artisan, who repairs old manuscripts at the Ahmed Baba Institute in Timbuktu. When I was back home it was a big surprise that I found two huge full...
F_Meignant Says: Nothing to become paranoid, but in the desert... they exist.In the Occidental mind, black scorpions are supposed to be dangerous when white or sandy ones are not.This is a stupid legend and the reality is just the opposite: in Sahara, bites of black scorpions are very...
sachara Says: In the centre of the festival area was a huge tent, the forum. In this place there were several conferences between 9 am and 1 pm. I suppose on several subjects like cultural, political and social ones. The talks were all in the french language as far as I know.I visited...
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Nothing to become paranoid, but in the desert... they exist.In the Occidental mind, black scorpions are supposed to be dangerous when white or sandy ones are...
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The reason why I came to Timbuktu was to attend the 9th Festival au Desert in Essakane 70 km north west of Timbuktu. This festival at 8, 9 and 10 january 2009 turned out to be the perfect mix of...
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Festival au Désert, january 2003
Essakane (previously called Farach) is a small Tuareg village in the desert, some 70km West of Timbuktu, close to the dried-up Faguibine Lake. Beautiful dunes of white sand. It's usually where is the...
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