As exotic as the name is, Agadez is the remotest place to be on the earth or as often called the beginning of the end of the world. Situated in Republic of Niger in West Africa, a land lock country that is covered in Sahara Desert and its only source of income, Uranium. If ever one wants to get away from it all, this is the place to be.
Instead of stating from the capital Niamey I went to Agadez from Sokoto in Nigeria. That way the only preparation was to load a lot of fuel, water, ice-box with fruits like watermelon and juices. The other important thing is mosquito repellent medicine for spider stings, sunscreen and learn a little French and off course money!
I started at 7a.m on a personal car Nissan Datsun station wagon and reached there at 1.30 p.m... This journey is for those who love to drive or learn driving. The road are so straight that you are chasing a mirage into the sky ,there are only two colors sky blue and sand with nothing to see on any side which can be mind boggling if you don’t know the direction and there is none to ask. There is not a tree to sit under to eat your lunch or just park and give the car engine a rest. Just milestones to keep you in direction and hope.
The only animals you will come across are geget lizard, the spider, and chameleon on a twig besides the ship of the desert, camel. But the heat is the biggest challenge but it too is of a strange kind .It penetrates your skin and roast it, dry wind the reason turags are more covered than exposed to the elements, and scorching sand. Most air-condition system fail or are just a relief to get by the other best way is to stick to eating water melons and drinking as much water.
The beauty of the desert has to be seen to be believed, the curving dunes, the vastness of a sea, run in it and fall and it will nest you ,throw a small magnet and tiny iron particles will surround it. For the first time you will hear the sound of silence, even the wind has little to hit and produce it just when a sandstorm hits you. That is an experience in itself.
Sandstorms are most prevalent from November to February; the dust is perpetually in air reducing sunshine and so the temperature. The special effect of this is all nylon clothing produces an electric effect that is big enough to hear as pat, pat. So it’s a bad time to travel around the New Year.
I stayed at what was the hotel of the city because it had a TV in it’s Reception and a deep freezer to boost, if you have brought any canned food do put it in. as I did. The room or I should say the whole hotel was made of mud. It was spacious, sparce with a wooden plank with a very thin mattress a curtain to divide the bathroom and an old ceiling fan. Oh yes the roof it made of was authentic uncut bark of date trunks all lines up neatly together and bound by palm leaves and mud. Our only water supply was brought as a bucket and mug of water. It felt like a space ship capsule and a good example of modern interior design.
There are no places to visit as such but the curiosity of how people survive in this world made me go to the market in the evening. Nothing is available locally unless an oasis or an under ground water supply feeds a patch of land to grow okra or spinach. What bright color of tomatoes, cucumbers, green leaved vegetable, they look so bright and tempting against this backdrop. I got a chance to eat a lot of French products and there wasn’t ant shortage of basic necessities. The spices are strange looking like limestone and I could never find what they were and the other, the reason for ancient travel and trade, Salt. Once upon a time it was a prized commodity traded and you get to see its various forms like rock salt and others vary in color due to its purity. Camel market was on the outskirts so did not interest me. The centre of attraction is the Grande mosque dates back to 16th century. It is unique in architecture with no minarets or dome but like a stupa conical. It’s a triangle with 5 stories each divided by wooden date trunks externally. There are starecase to the top but not in use today except by bats today.
The people are turages, often identified into different tribes by the tattoo markings on the faces and are not as dark as Africans in general. They are friendly, hospitable, with a strong Islamic value system. Their women tend to children, farming, carving clabash gourd, drying meat, and visiting each other at night.
Food is semi-solid in the form of tuao made of millet pounded and cooked stirring on low heat into a soft dough eaten with spinach or okra with chicken or meat in a tomatoes puree base.
