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Araouane
Araouane or Arawan is a small village in the Malian part of the Sahara Desert, lying north of Timbuktu on the caravan route to the salt-mining centre of Taoudenni. The village once served as an entrepôt in the trans-Saharan trade. History Between the 16th and the 19th centuries, Araouane acted as an entrepôt in the important trans-Sahara trade. In particular, the town of Araouane served as a storage depot for the merchants of Timbuktu to store their goods as they were in the process of preparation to resell to northern Saharan towns like Tuat and Ghadames. Under the Songhai Empire and Pashalik of Timbuktu, Araouane was governed similarly to Timbuktu; under a system of "Judgeship" held by erudite scholars with sweeping judicial, legislative, and executive powers. The French explorer René Caillié passed through Araouane in 1828 on his journey from Timbuktu across the Sahara Desert to Morocco. He travelled in May, the hottest month of the year when the average maximum temper ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
René Caillié
Auguste René Caillié (; 19 November 1799 – 17 May 1838) was a French explorer and the first European to return alive from the town of Timbuktu. Caillié had been preceded at Timbuktu by a British officer, Alexander Gordon Laing, Major Gordon Laing, who was murdered in September 1826 on leaving the city. Caillié was therefore the first to return alive. Caillié was born in western France in a village near the port of Rochefort, Charente-Maritime, Rochefort. His parents were poor and died while he was still young. At the age of 16 he left home and signed up as a member of the crew on a French naval vessel sailing to Saint-Louis, Senegal, Saint-Louis on the coast of modern Senegal in western Africa. He stayed there for several months and then crossed the Atlantic to Guadeloupe on a merchantman. He made a second visit to West Africa two years later when he accompanied a British expedition across the Ferlo Desert to Bakel, Senegal, Bakel on the Senegal River. Caillié returned ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ahmad Baba Al Massufi
Aḥmad Bābā al-Timbuktī (), full name Abū al-Abbās Aḥmad ibn Aḥmad ibn Aḥmad ibn Umar ibn Muhammad Aqit al-Takrūrī Al-Massufi al-Timbuktī (1556 – 1627 CE, 963 – 1036 H), was a Sanhaja Berber writer, scholar, and political provocateur in the area then known as the Western Sudan. He was a prolific author and wrote more than 40 books. Life Aḥmad Bābā was born on October 26, 1556, in Araouane to the Sanhaja Berber Aqit family. He moved to Timbuktu at an early age where he studied with his father, Aḥmad ibn al-Ḥājj Aḥmad ibn ‘Umar ibn Muḥammad Aqīt, and the scholar Mohammed Bagayogo (var. Baghayu'u); there are no other records of his activity until 1594, when he was deported to Morocco over accusations of sedition, after the Moroccan invasion of Songhai where he remained in Fez until the death of Ahmad al-Mansur. His successor, Zaydan An-Nasser, allowed all exiles to return to their country. Aḥmad Bābā reached Timbuktu on April 22, 16 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Taoudénit Region
Taoudénit is a region of Mali legislatively created in 2012 from the northern part of Timbuktu Cercle in Tombouctou Region. Actual implementation of the region began on 19 January 2016 with the appointment of Abdoulaye Alkadi as the region's governor. Members of the region's transitional council were appointed on 14 October 2016. General Abderrahmane Ould Meydou replaced Alkadi as governor in July 2017. The region is divided into six cercles: Achouratt, Al-Ourche, Araouane, Boudje-Béha, Foum-Alba and Taoudénit. The capital will be located at Taoudénit, although the government is currently based in Timbuktu Timbuktu ( ; ; Koyra Chiini: ; ) is an ancient city in Mali, situated north of the Niger River. It is the capital of the Tombouctou Region, one of the eight administrative regions of Mali, having a population of 32,460 in the 2018 census. ... owing to the lack of infrastructure in Taoudénit. References Regions of Mali States and territories esta ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Araouane Cercle
Araouane is a ''cercle'' of Taoudénit Region, Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b .... References Cercles of Mali {{Mali-geo-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Taoudenni
Taoudenni (also Taoudeni, Taoudénit, Taudeni, , ) is a remote salt mining center in the desert region of northern Mali, north of Timbuktu. It is the capital of Taoudénit Region. The salt is dug by hand from the bed of an ancient salt lake, cut into slabs, and transported either by truck or by camel to Timbuktu. The camel caravans ( azalai) from Taoudenni are some of the last that still operate in the Sahara Desert. In the late 1960s, during the regime of Moussa Traoré, a prison was built at the site and the inmates were forced to work in the mines. The prison was closed in 1988. Salt mining The earliest mention of Taoudenni is by al-Sadi, in his '' Tarikh al-Sudan'', who wrote that in 1586 when Moroccan forces attacked the salt mining center of Taghaza (150 km north west of Taoudenni) some of the miners moved to 'Tawdani'. In 1906, the French soldier Édouard Cortier visited Taoudenni with a unit of the camel corps ( méharistes) and published the first description o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gum Arabic
Gum arabic (gum acacia, gum sudani, Senegal gum and by other names) () is a tree gum exuded by two species of '' Acacia sensu lato:'' '' Senegalia senegal,'' and '' Vachellia seyal.'' However, the term "gum arabic" does not indicate a particular botanical source. The gum is harvested commercially from wild trees, mostly in Sudan (about 70% of the global supply) and throughout the Sahel, from Senegal to Somalia. The name "gum Arabic" (''al-samgh al-'arabi'') was used in the Middle East at least as early as the 9th century. Gum arabic first found its way to Europe via Arabic ports and retained its name of origin. Gum arabic is a complex mixture of glycoproteins and polysaccharides, predominantly polymers of arabinose and galactose. It is soluble in water, edible, and used primarily in the food industry and soft drink industry as a stabilizer, with E number E414 (I414 in the US). Gum arabic is a key ingredient in traditional lithography and is used in printing, paints, glue ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Méhariste
''Méhariste'' is a French word that roughly translates to camel cavalry. The word is most commonly used as a designation of military units. French camel corps Origins France created a corps of ''méhariste'' camel companies (''Compagnies Méharistes Sahariennes''), as part of the '' Armée d'Afrique'', in the Sahara in 1902. These units replaced regular units of Algerian spahis and tirailleurs earlier used to patrol the desert boundaries. The newly raised ''Compagnies méharistes'' were originally recruited mainly from the Chaamba nomadic tribe and commanded by officers of the French ''Affaires Indigènes'' (Native Affairs Bureau). Each company of ''Méharistes'' comprised six officers, 36 French non-commissioned officers and troopers, and 300 Chaamba troopers. Their bases were at Tabelbala, Adrar, Ouargla, Fort Polignac (today Illizi) and Tamanrasset. History With their local tribal links, plus their mobility and flexible tactics, the ''Compagnies Méharistes'' provide ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Köppen Climate Classification
The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (temperate), ''D'' (continental), and ''E'' (polar). Each group and subgroup is represented by a letter. All climates are assigned a main group (the first letter). All climates except for those in the ''E'' group are assigned a seasonal precipitation subgroup (the second letter). For example, ''Af'' indicates a tropical rainforest climate. The system assigns a temperature subgroup for all groups other than those in the ''A'' group, indicated by the third letter for climates in ''B'', ''C'', ''D'', and the second letter for climates in ''E''. Other examples include: ''Cfb'' indicating an oceanic climate with warm summers as indicated by the ending ''b.'', while ''Dwb'' indicates a semi-Monsoon continental climate, monsoonal continental climate ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hot Desert Climate
The desert climate or arid climate (in the Köppen climate classification ''BWh'' and ''BWk'') is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in desert climates are dry and hold little moisture, quickly evaporating the already little rainfall they receive. Covering 14.2% of Earth's land area, hot deserts are the second-most common type of climate on Earth after the Polar climate. There are two variations of a desert climate according to the Köppen climate classification: a hot desert climate (''BWh''), and a cold desert climate (''BWk''). To delineate "hot desert climates" from "cold desert climates", a mean annual temperature of is used as an isotherm so that a location with a ''BW'' type climate with the appropriate temperature above this isotherm is classified as "hot arid subtype" (''BWh''), and a location with the appropriate temperature below the isotherm is classified as "cold ar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Caravan (travellers)
A caravan (from Persian ) is a group of people traveling together, often on a trade expedition. Caravans were used mainly in desert areas and throughout the Silk Road, where traveling in groups helped in defense against bandits as well as in improving economies of scale in trade. Description Historically, caravans connecting East Asia and Europe often carried luxurious and lucrative goods, such as silks or jewelry. Caravans could therefore require considerable investment and were a lucrative target for bandits. The profits from a successful journey could be significant, comparable to those generated by later European spice trade. The luxurious goods brought by caravans attracted many rulers along important trade routes to construct caravanserais. These were roadside stations which supported the flow of commerce, information, and people across the network of trade routes covering Asia, North Africa, and southeastern Europe, and in particular along the Silk Road. Caravanserais p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harmattan
The Harmattan is a season in West Africa that occurs between the end of November and the middle of March. It is characterized by the dry and dusty northeasterly trade wind, of the same name, which blows from the Sahara over West Africa into the Gulf of Guinea. The name is related to the word in the Twi language. The temperature is cold mostly at night in some places but can be very hot in certain places during daytime. Generally, temperature differences can also depend on local circumstances. The Harmattan blows during the dry season, which occurs during the months with the lowest sun. In this season, the subtropical ridge of high pressure stays over the central Sahara and the low-pressure Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) stays over the Gulf of Guinea. On its passage over the Sahara, the Harmattan picks fine dust and sand particles (between 0.5 and 10 microns). It is also known as the "doctor wind", because of its invigorating dryness compared with humid tropical air. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
International Committee Of The Red Cross
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is a humanitarian organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, and is a three-time Nobel Prize laureate. The organization has played an instrumental role in the development of rules of war and promoting humanitarian norms. State parties (signatories) to the Geneva Convention of 1949 and its Additional Protocols of 1977 ( Protocol I, Protocol II) and 2005 have given the ICRC a mandate to protect victims of international and internal armed conflicts. Such victims include war wounded persons, prisoners, refugees, civilians, and other non-combatants. The ICRC is part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, along with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and 191 National Societies. It is the oldest and most honoured organization within the movement and one of the most widely recognized organizations in the world, having won three Nobel Peace Prizes (in 1917, 1944, and 19 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
