【Huang's Ancient Architecture Encyclopedia】African Salt Road.
The salt road makes every place "interconnected": the salt road is the greatest wealth in the Sahara Desert
In the desolation and dead silence of the Sahara Desert, the biggest golden vein is the "salt road" that can rival the "Silk Road" between Asia and Europe. As of the beginning of the 20th century, salt merchants across the Sahara Desert were still crossing Africa with a procession of 20,000 camels a year, which was an unprecedented spectacle.
Today, these caravans still roam the Sahara Desert, but face the challenge of modern trucks, and their numbers have plummeted.
In the Middle Ages and later, Arab travelers talked about african gold mines, making African gold production a deep-rooted concept. It was not until 1826 that the French explorer Hoine Kaiye finally entered the "Timbuktu", the largest "golden vein" in the Sahara Desert, which was actually the "salt road" walked by the salt caravan, which was as important as the "Silk Road" connecting Central Asia and Europe.
Salt is not only important for people, but also for livestock, and for dromedary camels, it is also the lifeblood of maintaining health, so it forms an annual "salt festival" for camels and other livestock. Every year, when the caravan completes a trip, during the rainy season in early September, everyone gathers their livestock in the Ingle region of Niger, allowing them to rest and eat the rich salt of the region's meadows. Rainwater dissolves the abundant salts underground to the surface.
The desertification of North Africa has made cattle and horses, which were originally extremely dependent on water, no longer able to survive. It was not until the Byzantine Empire in the 5th century AD that camels introduced by the Persians became an important means of transport, and the Tuaregs established a base in the Ayr Plateau of Niger in the 16th century, and then controlled the salt pans of Bilmau and Farch to engage in salt production. Bilma's salt caravan consisted of 25,000 camels, and until 1913 their business was booming.
Salt road caravans had to pass through many areas where natural resources were simply not available, so they had to carry not only commodities in exchange for salt, but also fodder for livestock, wood and water for fire. On the way back, they bring back salt and dates. Salt caravans generally did not enter the oasis, but only traded in the outlying garrisons. They brought sundries and cotton fabrics in exchange for salt and dates from salt farmers. Commercialized salt is made into 25 kg or smaller 3 kg salt cake. Jumbo Heritage List ©
