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Michael Asher (explorer)
Michael Asher (born 1953) is an English desert exploration, desert explorer, writer, historian, deep ecologist, and educator. He has been acknowledged as one of the world's leading experts on the desert and its nomadic peoples. He has travelled and lived in the Sahara and the Arabian Desert, published both non-fiction and fiction works based on his explorations and encounters, and presented several documentaries based on his published works. Early and personal life Michael Asher was born in Stamford, Lincolnshire, where his father, Frederick Asher was a chartered surveyor; his mother, Kathleen Asher, was a State-Registered Nurse. Asher attended Stamford School, then a direct grant grammar school. He later graduated from the University of Leeds, where he studied English Language and Linguistics. As a young man he served in the Paras, the SAS, and the RUC Special Patrol Group. He has spent much of his adult life in Africa, and speaks Arabic and Swahili. He is married to Arabist and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Desert Exploration
Desert exploration is the deliberate and scientific exploration of deserts, the arid regions of the earth. It is only incidentally concerned with the culture and livelihood of native desert dwellers. People have struggled to live in deserts and the surrounding semi-arid lands for millennia. Nomads have moved their flocks and herds to wherever grazing is available, and oases have provided opportunities for a more settled way of life. Many, such as the Bushmen in the Kalahari, the Aboriginal Australians, Aborigines in Australia and various Indigenous peoples of the Americas, were originally hunter-gatherers. Many trade routes have been forged across deserts, especially across the Sahara Desert, and traditionally were used by Caravan (travellers), caravans of camels carrying salt, gold, ivory and other goods. Large numbers of slaves were also taken northwards across the Sahara. Today, some mineral extraction also takes place in deserts, and the uninterrupted sunlight gives potential ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kababish Tribe
The Kababish ( ; ) are a nomadic tribe of the northern Kordofan region of Sudan. The Kababish comprise about 19 different groups, which are all led by a single ''nazir'' or chief. Their main occupation is as camel herders, which gives them a high standing in Arabic society as camels are highly prized and valued. The main religion of the Kababish is Islam, adhering to the Sunni denomination. They descend from Arab forefathers that hail from the Arabian tribe of Juhaynah, and speak a form of Sudanese Arabic. Women classically dress in a long blue cloth wrapped a few times around their body, while the men wear long white tunics, loose white pants and white turbans. Most men will carry a dagger or sword and perhaps a rifle or shotgun, due to the harshness of desert life and the threat of banditry due to their valuable stock. Herders From a young age children start to work at herding camels for water and feeding. What makes the Kababish stand out from other nomads is that the tribe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Janjaweed
The Janjaweed () are an Sudanese Arabs, Arab nomad militia group operating in the Sahel, Sahel region, specifically in Sudan, particularly in Darfur and eastern Chad. They have also been speculated to be active in Yemen. According to the United Nations definition, Janjaweed membership consists of Arab nomad tribes from the Sahel, the core of whom are Abbala Arabs, traditionally employed in pastoralism, camel herding, with significant recruitment from the Baggara. Janjaweed nomads were initially at odds with Darfur's sedentary population due to competition over natural grazing grounds and farmland, a conflict exacerbated by dwindling rainfall and drought. The Janjaweed were a major player in the Darfur conflict between 2003 and 2020, in opposition to the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army and the Justice and Equality Movement rebels. In 2013, the Rapid Support Forces grew out of the Janjaweed. Etymology The origin of the word ''Janjaweed'' is unclear. It may derive from the Arabic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aswan
Aswan (, also ; ) is a city in Southern Egypt, and is the capital of the Aswan Governorate. Aswan is a busy market and tourist centre located just north of the Aswan Dam on the east bank of the Nile at the first cataract. The modern city has expanded and includes the formerly separate community on the island of Elephantine. Aswan includes five monuments within the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Nubian Monuments from Abu Simbel to Philae; these are the Old and Middle Kingdom tombs of Qubbet el-Hawa, the town of Elephantine, the stone quarries and Unfinished Obelisk, the Monastery of St. Simeon and the Fatimid Cemetery. The city's Nubian Museum is an important archaeological center, containing finds from the International Campaign to Save the Monuments of Nubia before the Aswan Dam flooded all of Lower Nubia. The city is part of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network in the category of craft and folk art. Aswan joined the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities in 20 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mersa Matruh
Mersa Matruh (), also transliterated as Marsa Matruh ( Standard Arabic ''Marsā Maṭrūḥ'', ), is a port in Egypt and the capital of Matrouh Governorate. It is located west of Alexandria and east of Sallum on the main highway from the Nile Delta to the Libyan border. The city is also accessible from the south via another highway running through the Western Desert towards Siwa Oasis and Bahariya Oasis. Mersa Matruh was a major grain port under the Romans and a military base of the British Empire. During World War II, several battles were fought around its environs as the Italo-German Panzer Army Africa attempted to capture the port. It fell to the Axis during the Battle of Mersa Matruh but was recaptured following the Second Battle of El Alamein. Mersa Matruh is served by Mersa Matruh International Airport. The city features soft white sand beaches and calm transparent waters; the bay is protected from the high seas by a series of rocks forming a natural breakwater ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Western Desert (North Africa)
In Egypt, the Western Desert is an area of the Sahara that lies west of the river Nile, up to the Libyan border, and south from the Mediterranean Sea to the border with Sudan. It is named in contrast to the Eastern Desert which extends east from the Nile to the Red Sea. The Western Desert is mostly rocky desert, though an area of sandy desert, known as the Great Sand Sea, lies to the west against the Libyan border. The desert covers an area of which is two-thirds of the land area of the country. Its highest elevation is in the Gilf Kebir plateau to the far south-west of the country, on the Egypt-Sudan-Libya border. The Western Desert is barren and uninhabited save for a chain of oases which extend in an arc from Siwa, in the north-west, to Kharga in the south. It has been the scene of conflict in modern times, particularly during the Second World War. Administratively the Western Desert is divided between various governorates; in the north and west, the Matrouh Governor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chad
Chad, officially the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North Africa, North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to Chad–Libya border, the north, Sudan to Chad–Sudan border, the east, the Central African Republic to Central African Republic–Chad border, the south, Cameroon to Cameroon–Chad border, the southwest, Nigeria to Chad–Nigeria border, the southwest (at Lake Chad), and Niger to Chad–Niger border, the west. Chad has a population of 19 million, of which 1.6 million live in the Capital city, capital and largest city of N'Djamena. With a total area of around , Chad is the fifth-largest country in Africa and the List of countries and dependencies by area, twentieth largest nation by area. Chad has several regions: the Sahara desert in the north, an arid zone in the centre known as the Sahel, and a more fertile Sudanian Savanna zone in the south. Lake Chad, after which the country is named, is the second-largest wetl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Niger
Niger, officially the Republic of the Niger, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is a unitary state Geography of Niger#Political geography, bordered by Libya to the Libya–Niger border, north-east, Chad to the Chad–Niger border, east, Nigeria to the Niger–Nigeria border, south, Benin and Burkina Faso to the Benin-Niger border, south-west, Mali to the Mali–Niger border, west, and Algeria to the Algeria–Niger border, north-west. It covers a land area of almost , making it the largest landlocked country in West Africa and the second-largest landlocked nation in Africa behind Chad. Over 80% of its land area lies in the Sahara. Its Islam in Niger, predominantly Muslim population of about million lives mostly in clusters in the south and west of the country. The capital Niamey is located in Niger's south-west corner along the namesake Niger River. Following the spread of Islam to the region, Niger was on the fringes of some states, including the Kanem–Bornu Empire ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 by Niger, to the northwest by Mauritania, to the south by Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast, and to the west by Guinea and Senegal. The population of Mali is about 23.29 million, 47.19% of which are estimated to be under the age of 15 in 2024. Its Capital city, capital and largest city is Bamako. The country has 13 official languages, of which Bambara language, Bambara is the most commonly spoken. The sovereign state's northern borders reach deep into the middle of the Sahara, Sahara Desert. The country's southern part, where the majority of inhabitants live, is in the Sudanian savanna and has the Niger River, Niger and Senegal River, Senegal rivers running through it. The country's economy centres on agriculture and mining with its most promine ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chinguetti
Chinguetti ( ; ) is a ksar and a medieval trading center in northern Mauritania, located on the Adrar Plateau east of Atar. Chinguetti had a population of 4,800 as of 2013. Founded in the 13th century as the center of several trans-Saharan trade routes, this small city continues to attract a handful of visitors who admire its spare architecture, scenery, and ancient libraries. The city is seriously threatened by the encroaching desert; high sand dunes mark the western boundary and several houses have been abandoned to the sand. The town is split in two by a wadi. On one side, there is the old sector, and on the other the new one. The indigenous Saharan architecture of older sectors of the city features houses constructed of reddish dry-stone and mud-brick techniques, with flat roofs timbered from palms. Many of the older houses feature hand-hewn doors cut from massive ancient acacia trees, which have long disappeared from the surrounding area. Many homes include courtyards or pa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Geoffrey Moorhouse
Geoffrey Moorhouse, FRGS, FRSL (29 November 1931 – 26 November 2009) was an English journalist and author. He was born Geoffrey Heald in Bolton and took his stepfather's surname. He attended Bury Grammar School. He began writing as a journalist on the '' Bolton Evening News''. At the age of 27, he joined ''The Manchester Guardian'' where he eventually became chief feature writer and combined writing books with journalism. Many of his books were largely based on his travels. He was elected Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society in 1972, Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 1982, and received an honorary Doctor of Letters from the University of Warwick. His book ''To The Frontier'' won the Thomas Cook Award for the best travel book of its year in 1984. He had recently concentrated on Tudor history, with ''The Pilgrimage of Grace'' and ''Great Harry's Navy''. He lived in a hill village in North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Beja People
The Beja people (, , ) are a Cushitic-speaking peoples, Cushitic Ethnicity, ethnic group native to the Eastern Desert, inhabiting a coastal area from southeastern Egypt through eastern Sudan and into northwestern Eritrea. They are descended from peoples who have inhabited the area since 4000 BC or earlier, although they were Arabization, Arabized by Arabs who settled in the region. They are nomadic and live primarily in the Eastern Desert. The Beja number around 1,900,000 to 2,759,000. Some of the Beja speak a Cushitic languages, Cushitic language called Beja language, Beja and some speak Tigre language, Tigre, a Semitic languages, Semitic language; most speak Arabic. In Eritrea and southeastern Sudan, many members of the Beni-Amer people, Beni-Amer grouping speak Tigre. Originally, the Beja did not speak Arabic, but the migration of the numerous Arabs, Arab tribes of Juhaynah, Mudar, Rabi'a ibn Nizar, Rabi'a, and many more to the Beja areas contributed to the Arabization and Is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
