Sahara ： Le Territoire des Djinns

The vast Sahara desert is home to two holy cities blessed by Allah. Shingeti, the library of the desert, and Tambuktu, the university of the desert. For centuries, the trans-Saharan trade has led Bedouins to rally these two cities by the long road of the wells. But no man has ever tried to cross directly the land of the jinn. Lama Jabba al-Kubra. I will go on a long journey to Tambuktu. I will be absent for at least 45 days. If you follow my recommendations, my son, you will have a reward. The most difficult thing is to have the will. Check the condition of the animals, make the camels drink, mark the newborns, take them to the pasture and keep an eye on them. How many times do I have to see him? Three to four times. Three years ago, I already made a meharé with an extraordinary Frenchman. Although he does not eat meat, I had never seen such a solid white. Regis came back every year to ask me to accompany him from Shingeti to Tambuktu without crossing the road of the wells. No one has ever crossed the desert of the deserts. Yet, in the third year, I gave in to the madness of the Frenchman. May Allah forgive me. And in all, Shingeti to Tambuktu, about 1,200 km. Shingeti to Tambuktu. Like my ancestors, I live and travel in the desert. But a meharé so long and so risky has never been realized. Even Théodore Monod, whom I met in Shingeti, did not undertake such a crossing. We will need a very long preparation and the help of the Almighty. I set up my family's camp here, in Gneba, five years ago. Since then, I have built three wells, a school and a small madrasa where the Marabout teaches the Koran to my eight children and those of the neighbors. We are almost three days away from Shingeti, but the pastures are good for my animals and we live in peace. Why does this trip worry you? It is the Tuaregs that worry us, but also the thirst and the absence of news. You have children at a young age. The children are in the hands of God. For the trip, we will take enough water so as not to be thirsty. And we will have enough food to go to Mali. God will protect us against fear. He will spare us the encounters with the bandits. And when will you return? We will return when the necessary is done. When you are on the territory of the spirits, the jinns, if they come to meet you, what will you do? We will be protected by God against the jinns. And if we are not afraid of the jinns, they will have no influence on us. God protects us. We will not be afraid. Regis must join me today at my home in Gneba. The desert has no more secrets for him. He grew up in Algeria and he worked for a long time in all of Africa with the white doctors. They drove their trucks across the continent. He understood that in the desert, nothing is worth a camel. Welcome. Everything is fine? Thank God. It will be a difficult journey. Very difficult. But doable. Life is difficult, but men go through it. Any difficulty is surmountable. You have to be possessed by these geniuses of jinns to embark on such an adventure. Regis says it's for pleasure. I can't believe it. Why accept so much suffering and risk for nothing? It's not for the money that I'm leaving. I lack nothing here. The truth is that I can't leave my friend alone in this desert. We plan to take 8 camels. 4 for the water, 2 for the food, and 2 for the luggage. Do you think it's enough to go to Tambukto? 4 camels with 8 tons of water. And you want to take a road without any water? Yes, with the help of God. The road to the wells is much easier. It will take you 10 tons, so 5 camels. You have to be aware. You have to take into account the obstacles that will arise independently of your will. If we see the roofs, we do like this. We do like this and we give everything. I would like to see that. We do nothing. We wait. Do you think they will ask your opinion? It won't happen like that. The Tuareg comes like this child, naturally. As if he was watching his camels or his goats. He observes you, then he comes back to ambush you. Your phone is useless, it's too late. Before planes or cars arrive, it's over. I agree, but you understand that I prefer to give everything to the Tuareg than to have a bullet in my head. I don't want to fight with the Tuaregs. I don't know, but the Tuaregs are smart. What I know is that the Tuaregs are dangerous. It's dangerous. I think it's expired. It's too old. Look at this one. Good. The time has come to join Shingeti, our starting point where we will carry out all the preparations. Now I am in the hand of Allah. If He wishes, I will soon see my children again. God protects you. Regis is less stubborn than most white people who come to the Sahara. He understood that for such a difficult journey, we only need food and Mauritanian equipment. These are very good dates. Although he is a believer, Regis has agreed to follow me to the Marabout. He knows that no son of this country would be able to make such a pilgrimage without having the Baraka. Abdullah, I came with my brother Regis. We want to go to Tamboukto. It will be very difficult. We need protection. We ask for the support of God and your support. I will give you two amulets and I will write a verse of the Qur'an between your shoulders. This is very good. May the Baraka be with us. For a Meharé like ours, the choice of the camels is vital. We must feel their strength, their character, guess their story and choose the best. Five are good. But what about the other three? Two are old. And a third is sick and weak. After a long talk, we decided to take 8 camels, 400 liters of water, 35 days of food, 8 kilos of sugar and 4 kilos of tea. I will be in charge of the animals and Regis, with his map and compass, will lead us to the heart of the desert of the deserts. Goodbye. We entrust you to God. May the Baraka be with us. For a Meharé like ours, the choice of the camels is vital. We must feel their strength, their character, guess their story and choose the best. Day 8 We enter an area that I do not know. Never have any of my ancestors, who rest in peace, ventured there. May God protect us from hunger, thirst and djinns. Day 9 We enter an area that I do not know. ventured there. May God protect us from hunger, thirst and djinns. Day 15 The camels know that we have entered the vastness of great solitude. The Majabat al-Kubra. Day 19 The other tribes, Ammoudou 10 It's going to be hard with this camel. It is too young, and too nervous this camel. Regis does not understand the language of this young camel. I must get his trust and obedience. Mass your feet and warm up. If you do that every night, you will be able to walk 25 to 30 kilometers a day. There is one that is a little weak, and today we put water bottles on it. But we will have to save it, we will have to put the water bottles on the other one, the stronger one. We will change the water charge in three days. This is the direction. Leave it there and we will move forward at 110 degrees. This is the right side, the right side. Yes, this is where you will have a lot of sun. On the other side you will be all white, and here you will be all tanned. This is the direction of the Mecca. This is where you do the prayer too. Allah Akbar. Yes, Allah Akbar. 110 degrees, and everything falls. You like coffee, we like dried meat. Eat, then we will go get the camels. Eat quickly. There are a lot of pieces of pottery. We will stop here for a while, and then we will look. Remove the sand. It is pretty. It is beautiful. Incredible. It is very, very pretty. It may be 7,000, 8,000 years old. It must be Neolithic, I think. It is beautiful. Every night, I free the camels so that they can find their food. And every morning, I have to go get them several kilometers following their tracks. It has always been like this. During this time, Regis is waiting for me at the camp, and like all the French people who come to the desert nowadays, he plays with his little box of pictures. Peace be upon you. The 20th day. Rocks appear. Regis is very surprised. He thought that at this place, they were hidden under 2,000 meters of sand. He decides to set up the camp near the biggest ones to go observe them. Regis says that the discovery of these paintings is a miracle. He absolutely wants to come back to study them with other whites. He thinks that they were made about 5,000 years ago at a time when the Sahara was green, full of water and wild animals. May Allah be blessed to have guided our steps to this discovery. The 30th day. I have never walked so long without meeting men or camps. It is quite normal. This desert is too big, too hot, too far from life and wells. May Allah forgive our madness. There were two strategies to get to Tombouctou to cover about 1,200 km. Either we took an itinerary that allowed us to cover 33-35 km per day and guaranteed no food for the camels. Or we took an itinerary much further south of the other itinerary, the one I chose, which did not allow us to advance much but which guaranteed food for the camels. By taking this itinerary, we find ourselves very quickly in the Akhles Awana, which are a hell. It's a hell. It's very, very difficult, very, very hard. But on the other hand, the camels have food every day. That's the choice I made. I preferred to preserve the animals for the time being. We'll see how long it takes. But we're not moving forward. I don't agree with Regis anymore. The new road he's drawing may be too long for us. In the Akhles Awana, it's more than 45 degrees. The shadow is non-existent. The sand is soft and the dunes are too many. My legs already hurt too much. What will become of the camels if we disappear? I have a stomach ache. Regis poisoned me with his medicine for my legs. I decided to give it back to the good old Arabic gum of my ancestors. We lost a camel. And I think we've lost him for several kilometers. To transport 100 liters of water, we absolutely need to find him. The detached camel carries all the water we have left. If I don't find him right away, we'll be dead in less than two days. Even the cadet of my sons wouldn't make such a mistake. The djinns are starting to take hold of my mind. It's been two hours since you went to get the camel. I'm waiting. We'll see. We'll wait a little longer. Good job. Too tired by his load, this camel had to tear off his ring by falling. We were very lucky that the wind hadn't erased his tracks yet. We've been walking for 35 days. And according to Regis, we still have 340 kilometers to go. His damn road is really too long. In less than a week, we won't have anything to eat. Regis refuses to see the danger. The djinns have already invaded his mind. He only speaks with his camera and only thinks of his camels and of Tambouctou. Now, like every day, it gives me courage. I make the point on the map. We are... I find... We have crossed the border with Mali today. We are 5 kilometers behind. It's not huge. We still have 320 kilometers to Tambouctou. We can't do it anymore. Today we only did 20 kilometers. They wanted to stop. The camels are tired too. They don't leave us anymore. They stay with us. We found them an acacia. It's an excellent food for them. But they are tired. Very tired. We have water left. That's it. By taking the option of the road that will provide the most food for the camels, I hope we did well and that they will get to the end. I hope it was the right decision. Here is the most valiant camel. It's the black camel. The one that caused us trouble at the beginning but who still carries after 34 days of walking the 100 liters of water. It's the only one that still has 100 liters on its back. But the beasts are thirsty. They are like us. As we reach the end of our food and we only have oats left. Oats grains. It's the food that was planned for the camels in case they need it. But we are going to consume it. I'm looking for a neolithic mill to grind the grain. And as by chance, we find it all the time but today there is none. This desert is boring. We pay everything here. Everything at a price. It's the end. We have been eating the food of the camels for a week and they have not eaten for 33 days. I'm waiting for the jeans. Now we are at their mercy. There is something that is bothering me. We often talk about death in the desert. But I don't think we die because we lost our way. I think we die because we lost our heads in the desert. That's the danger of the desert. It's losing your head. It's drowsiness. And it's dangerous. Today, it's Eid. The sheep festival. This morning, I thought my end was near. But Allah has put on our way a little abandoned gazelle. Regis never eats meat. But me, this offering will save my life. Allah is great and merciful. In the name of Allah, the Merciful. The 38th day. We entered the region of the Tuareg bandits. Their cruel raids have never ceased since the time of my ancestors. I hardly sleep anymore and I no longer leave my weapon. Fortunately, the camels are starting to find better pastures and there is gibbet. Regis is very unhappy. Today, he has no other choice if he wants to survive than to accept to eat meat. The 44th day. In Buktu, Regis' dream is only five days away. Already, we meet marked camels, a sign that the Tuaregs are not far away. May Allah make those we meet good Muslims. Otherwise, this meharé will be the last. May peace be with you. Where are you from? Where are you going? This way. Is everyone okay? Yes. What is the name of the place where you come from? Hassissidi. May peace be with you. Isn't it too far, Hassissidi? Who is the stranger? Isn't Hassissidi's well too far? No, no, not far. What is the name of the next well? I already told you. Hassissidi is in front of you. Hassissidi is not on this side. This way. Really this way? Of course. May God be with you. I hope we will have a place quickly. Passing through the desert between Chinguetti and Domboktu is unprecedented. No one has ever done it. No one wanted to do it. From Wadan to Chinguetti, no one wanted to take the risk. Regis couldn't find anyone. But he is my friend and we had already traveled together. And thanks to the desert, we got closer to each other. For two years, he comes to see me regularly to talk to me about his project. And as no one wanted to accompany him, I didn't want to let him down. It is by friendship that I accepted. I promised him to leave as long as God allows me to live. I welcome you. We only touch the end and we come back. We know that it is an untouchable environment. And where I am really surprised, really very surprised, is that the camels did not drink for 39 days and they traveled 1,000 kilometers. 1,000 kilometers without drinking. 39 days. Do you realize? It's huge. It's really the best camel. Thank you. During this long trip, did you regret being engaged? No, not once. Not once. From the moment I got engaged, I was ready to go to death. Neither the sarcasm of the people, nor the fear of the camels could dissuade me. As long as I had not undertaken this crossing, I could not do anything. I was ashamed. I was a little worried when there was no more food. And a little with the camels too. I was a little worried if I should not go to a direct well rather than continue. It's a miracle to have crossed all these places. We, the sons of this country, we have difficulties to even do a small part of it. Sometimes we need to cross. Atlas is a very hard country. After 49 days and 1140 km, Tambouctou, the holy city, appears like a mirage on the horizon. I guess the minaret of its legendary mosque. We have to go there to thank Allah for making this trip possible. The sufferings endured and the sunburns disappear miraculously. It remains for Regis and me the joy and pride of having crossed a new road that opens the desert of deserts. Alhamdulillah. We are there. Tambouctou is really very far from Shingeti. Thank you. There is a direct road between the two holy cities of Shingeti and Tambouctou It is open to the bravest of men, whether they are Allah's disciples or infidels.