0:00:43 > 0:00:49The Niger River brought me to the heart of the Sahara but no further.
0:00:49 > 0:00:54From here on, the only ships I'll see are ships of the desert
0:00:54 > 0:00:59and where better to get acquainted with them than the city of Timbuktu?
0:00:59 > 0:01:02CAMEL GROANS
0:01:05 > 0:01:08Well, I've reached Timbuktu.
0:01:08 > 0:01:12- CAMEL GRUNTS - I said I've reached Timbuktu.
0:01:12 > 0:01:16- CAMEL GRUNTS - Not again - I've reached Timbuktu!
0:01:16 > 0:01:19And...back in the Sahara,
0:01:19 > 0:01:24for the first time in the land of the Tuareg,
0:01:24 > 0:01:30the Saharan nomad traders who founded Timbuktu about 800 years ago as a trading post
0:01:30 > 0:01:35for that most precious commodity of the Sahara - salt.
0:01:35 > 0:01:39The extraordinary thing is that still today
0:01:39 > 0:01:46the salt is brought down on camels in these great tablets, as it was all those years ago,
0:01:46 > 0:01:50from the mines 800km up into the desert.
0:01:50 > 0:01:55Nothing's really changed, has it? Well, you've changed, but...
0:01:55 > 0:01:59you look the same as the original camels and herders, don't you?
0:01:59 > 0:02:04How is it lugging all that salt around? It must be sheer hell!
0:02:04 > 0:02:07Is it nice now it's finished?
0:02:07 > 0:02:10- CAMEL GRUNTS - Yeah.
0:02:10 > 0:02:13'But things HAVE changed.'
0:02:13 > 0:02:18Today, the Tuareg are more likely to be found camped against the walls,
0:02:18 > 0:02:21sheltering from the desert,
0:02:21 > 0:02:24and the walls aren't what they were.
0:02:24 > 0:02:27Once inside the crumbling ramparts,
0:02:27 > 0:02:31it's hard to tell what it is about this desert city
0:02:31 > 0:02:33that has enthralled travellers
0:02:33 > 0:02:38and why it is that so many risked their lives to reach these streets.
0:02:41 > 0:02:46This mosque is evidence of the golden age of Timbuktu.
0:02:49 > 0:02:53El-Saheli, inventor of mud-brick architecture,
0:02:53 > 0:02:58designed and built it for Mansa Moussa, the immensely rich emperor,
0:02:58 > 0:03:02at a time when Mali was the greatest empire in Africa.
0:03:04 > 0:03:11This great mosque here at Timbuktu is an extraordinarily powerful and quietly affecting building.
0:03:11 > 0:03:14It's built on almost 100 columns
0:03:14 > 0:03:18and it creates a sort of forest of cool
0:03:18 > 0:03:21in this cauldron of heat outside.
0:03:21 > 0:03:24It was originally constructed in 1325
0:03:24 > 0:03:28and the sheer scale of the place is testimony
0:03:28 > 0:03:32to the power of the Islamic presence in the Middle Ages.
0:03:42 > 0:03:45# Allahu akbar. #
0:03:51 > 0:03:56It's Friday in Timbuktu, the holiest day of the week for Muslims,
0:03:56 > 0:04:01and, after prayers, the imam invites me back to his house.
0:04:05 > 0:04:09- 16th century.- Alors, tu vois maintenant la lune, le soleil...
0:04:09 > 0:04:16'The imam has scientific texts that clearly show the planets circling the sun.
0:04:16 > 0:04:21'They date back hundreds of years, preserved by the dry desert air.
0:04:21 > 0:04:28'It's convincing evidence that the scholars of Timbuktu knew a lot more than their counterparts in Europe.'
0:04:28 > 0:04:35In 15th-century Timbuktu, the mathematicians knew about rotation of the planets and the eclipse.
0:04:35 > 0:04:40They knew things we had to wait for 150 years to know in Europe,
0:04:40 > 0:04:44when Galileo and Copernicus came up with these same calculations...
0:04:46 > 0:04:49..and were given a hard time for it.
0:04:51 > 0:04:54CHILDREN RECITE THE KORAN
0:04:55 > 0:04:57In another part of the imam's house
0:04:57 > 0:05:01is a school where children learn the Koran.
0:05:01 > 0:05:04On est en train de lutter
0:05:04 > 0:05:08afin que Tombouctou retrouve son visage d'avant...
0:05:08 > 0:05:15He explained to me that he hopes that Timbuktu can one day regain some of its former glory
0:05:15 > 0:05:20and become once again the great centre of scholarship.
0:05:20 > 0:05:24..que Tombouctou puisse retrouver sa culture d'avant.
0:05:24 > 0:05:27CHILDREN RECITE
0:05:28 > 0:05:32After the Middle Ages, Timbuktu slid into decline,
0:05:32 > 0:05:38but its mystique grew, stoked by the fact that no-one could get to it.
0:05:38 > 0:05:41In 1826, a Scot, Alexander Laing, rediscovered Timbuktu.
0:05:41 > 0:05:44'His house is for sale, if you fancy a weekend hideaway.'
0:05:44 > 0:05:47Over a period of about 350 years,
0:05:47 > 0:05:5143 separate people tried to get to Timbuktu
0:05:51 > 0:05:55and only four of them succeeded. Laing was the first.
0:05:55 > 0:05:59When he got here, it looked pretty much like this.
0:05:59 > 0:06:04It was certainly not the fabled city of wealth that he'd expected.
0:06:04 > 0:06:08He stayed for a while and they were hospitable.
0:06:08 > 0:06:15As he went home, he fell out with the people who were taking him back. They asked him to convert to Islam.
0:06:15 > 0:06:19He said no, so they cut his head off, aged 33.
0:06:19 > 0:06:24That was the end of Laing, but his house is here and it's available.
0:06:24 > 0:06:30I can see myself festering here, gazing mournfully back at the past,
0:06:30 > 0:06:33but the desert beckons.
0:06:33 > 0:06:37East of Timbuktu, the Sahara is virtually inaccessible
0:06:37 > 0:06:41to all but the nomads who move their cattle across it.
0:06:41 > 0:06:46Each year, they have a get-together at Ingal, in the Republic of Niger.
0:06:51 > 0:06:58These are the Wodaabe - a tall, elegant people thought originally to have come from Ethiopia.
0:06:58 > 0:07:01They walk and ride hundreds of miles a year,
0:07:01 > 0:07:04seeking pasture for their cattle.
0:07:08 > 0:07:11They move camp every six or seven days,
0:07:11 > 0:07:14so all they own must be portable.
0:07:17 > 0:07:20GIRL SPEAKS TO DONKEY
0:07:22 > 0:07:29Rains have brought food and water and they must take advantage of the conditions to fatten their cattle.
0:07:31 > 0:07:36The Wodaabe grow no food, so without the animals, they would not survive.
0:07:38 > 0:07:42The fattening of the animals on the salt grass
0:07:42 > 0:07:47is celebrated at an annual festival called Cure Salee -
0:07:47 > 0:07:49the salt cure.
0:07:49 > 0:07:55This great gathering of the nomadic clans is now only days away.
0:07:55 > 0:07:59'One of their spokesmen - they don't have chiefs - is Doulla.'
0:07:59 > 0:08:03- Tous les gens de meme famille? - One pere, one mere...
0:08:03 > 0:08:05Ah, oui.
0:08:05 > 0:08:10'In a combination of French and a little English, he explains
0:08:10 > 0:08:15'that everyone in this group comes from the same family line.'
0:08:15 > 0:08:17Perri!
0:08:17 > 0:08:22- Ah, Perri. Qui est Perri? - Je te presente Perri.- Ah, ca va?
0:08:22 > 0:08:27'He introduces me to Perri, sporting heavy-duty Austrian sunglasses,
0:08:27 > 0:08:30'which I never see him remove.
0:08:30 > 0:08:34'Though Perri looks like the Godfather,
0:08:34 > 0:08:38'Doulla assures me he's only the brother-in-law.'
0:08:38 > 0:08:41- ..comme il est cher.- Ah, oui.
0:08:41 > 0:08:46The obvious non-family member is a French student called Celine,
0:08:46 > 0:08:49who's been living with the group.
0:08:49 > 0:08:54She shares everything. The contents of her medicine bag are in demand.
0:08:54 > 0:09:00What are relationships like among the Wodaabe between men and women?
0:09:00 > 0:09:05Some of them have three or four wives. Are there problems there?
0:09:05 > 0:09:09It's a free life here. The woman is...
0:09:09 > 0:09:12I can't say free, but more or less free,
0:09:12 > 0:09:17- like all around the world are free women.- So, she can...
0:09:17 > 0:09:22- She is with her husband.- Yes. - But if she want, she can leave him.
0:09:22 > 0:09:25She can go to... She can go...
0:09:25 > 0:09:29She can go to...with another man.
0:09:29 > 0:09:31They're quite liberated sexually.
0:09:31 > 0:09:34- More or less, yes.- Yeah.
0:09:35 > 0:09:39- It's important for them to look beautiful.- Yes, very important.
0:09:39 > 0:09:44When a man choose a woman or when a woman choose a man,
0:09:44 > 0:09:48the first thing they look is the beauty of the person.
0:09:48 > 0:09:51MEN SING
0:09:51 > 0:09:54This must be one of the most extraordinary beauty contests
0:09:54 > 0:09:56I've ever seen.
0:09:56 > 0:09:57It's called the Gerewol,
0:09:57 > 0:10:01and it is a sort of Wodaabe equivalent of the high school hop.
0:10:01 > 0:10:06The young men go to enormous lengths to make themselves irresistible.
0:10:06 > 0:10:09This means plenty of make up, exotic hairdressing,
0:10:09 > 0:10:12the ability to repeat the same song and the same movement
0:10:12 > 0:10:15for hours on end, and some very fancy eye work.
0:10:25 > 0:10:28How long do they dance for?
0:10:28 > 0:10:33- Something like seven days. - Seven days?- Yeah.- Seven days?!
0:10:40 > 0:10:42Now it's the girls' turn.
0:10:42 > 0:10:45Once decked out in all their finery by doting mothers,
0:10:45 > 0:10:48aunts and grannies, they will parade in front of the boys,
0:10:48 > 0:10:51and make their choice of partner.
0:10:54 > 0:10:59They look very beautiful, very young, and rather frightened.
0:10:59 > 0:11:02MEN SING
0:11:14 > 0:11:18Now comes the time for the girls to play their part in the ceremony.
0:11:24 > 0:11:26Now is the...
0:11:26 > 0:11:31- Do they come forward.- Yes. People like a woman, want to choisi.
0:11:32 > 0:11:35Though the girls have the right to choose,
0:11:35 > 0:11:38it looks to be more of an ordeal than a privilege.
0:11:38 > 0:11:42Their choice must be made in full view, for everyone to see.
0:11:46 > 0:11:49Nerves are beginning to show.
0:12:04 > 0:12:07And do the girls... Do they choose...
0:12:07 > 0:12:09- They choose one boy?- Yes, yes.
0:12:09 > 0:12:11They go up and they put their hand on him?
0:12:11 > 0:12:13Yes, maybe one woman, maybe two.
0:12:13 > 0:12:15- Ah.- If you're supposed to...- Ah.
0:12:15 > 0:12:16Yes.
0:12:18 > 0:12:20Guided by the mistress of ceremonies,
0:12:20 > 0:12:23each girl walks the line until contact is made,
0:12:23 > 0:12:26and the choice announced in the traditional way.
0:12:29 > 0:12:32WOMAN CALLS OUT
0:12:33 > 0:12:37Now the worst is over. Her chosen one will meet up with her later.
0:12:37 > 0:12:39He's hers for the night.
0:12:43 > 0:12:46COW MOOS
0:12:52 > 0:12:54Next morning, over breakfast,
0:12:54 > 0:12:57I meet a boy and a girl who got together at last year's Gerewol.
0:13:01 > 0:13:05Raine, tucking into millet porridge, was chosen by Goode,
0:13:05 > 0:13:09and they now have to decide whether they want to get married or not.
0:13:09 > 0:13:11This is not a marriage for the parents...
0:13:11 > 0:13:13Non - non c'est past mariage pour les parents.
0:13:13 > 0:13:17- ..so they love each other and sort of like each other?- Voila.- Yeah.
0:13:17 > 0:13:20It's a...mariage pour l'amour.
0:13:20 > 0:13:21Oui. Yes.
0:13:23 > 0:13:26'Doulla explains that although they've been lovers for a year,
0:13:26 > 0:13:28'Goode wants to go to Cure Salee
0:13:28 > 0:13:33'and see how Raine shapes up in the big Gerewol dance.'
0:13:33 > 0:13:37- Le garcon...- Yeah... - ..qui danse bien...- Oh, yes, I see.
0:13:37 > 0:13:40'If he dances well, sings well and looks good,
0:13:40 > 0:13:42'she'll very likely decide to be his wife.'
0:13:42 > 0:13:46..danse, comme il va faire, et apres vont faire la mariage.
0:13:46 > 0:13:49Then they can claim the family bed,
0:13:49 > 0:13:52the most important of all Wodaabe status symbols.
0:13:54 > 0:13:56CATTLE MOO
0:13:56 > 0:14:00But until Cure Salee is over, Goode's keeping everyone guessing.
0:14:22 > 0:14:23Well, we're on our way.
0:14:23 > 0:14:28The great Wodaabe family outing has begun to Cure Salee,
0:14:28 > 0:14:35which is an enormous festival where all the nomads come together for this great once-yearly event.
0:14:35 > 0:14:42I'm not sure quite what goes on - all sorts of festivities, dancing - and it's just a bit of a long walk.
0:14:42 > 0:14:44Coming!
0:14:51 > 0:14:54SPEECH INAUDIBLE
0:15:18 > 0:15:23The town where Cure Salee is celebrated is 60 miles from the camp
0:15:23 > 0:15:27and no, I admit it, I don't walk the whole way.
0:15:27 > 0:15:32I ride to Ingal in a bush taxi with 15 Wodaabe crammed on board,
0:15:32 > 0:15:36reducing their travelling time from two days to two hours.
0:15:36 > 0:15:39Well, we've now reached... Foma.
0:15:39 > 0:15:42Foma. It means "hello" in Wodaabe.
0:15:42 > 0:15:47We've reached the big city. It isn't a big city at all.
0:15:47 > 0:15:51This is Ingal and it's where Cure Salee takes place.
0:15:51 > 0:15:54After where we were, it's a shock,
0:15:54 > 0:15:57because there's walls, there's cars, there's police.
0:15:57 > 0:16:01There are people looking to rent out property.
0:16:01 > 0:16:06They've got this courtyard from some Hausa boys. Probably at a high rent.
0:16:06 > 0:16:12It's not totally comfortable here. Country boys come to the big city.
0:16:12 > 0:16:17There are lots of their families out there, but they haven't found them.
0:16:17 > 0:16:22It's just very different and there's a slightly hostile, cautious feeling
0:16:22 > 0:16:27- about it all.- Salut.- Hello. Foma. How are you?
0:16:28 > 0:16:33They're so lovely. They walk at this gentle pace and out there is mayhem.
0:16:43 > 0:16:50Cure Salee is everything - a party, trade fair, highland games, sports day and agricultural show.
0:16:50 > 0:16:52For one week a year,
0:16:52 > 0:16:56this little backwater is filled to bursting,
0:16:56 > 0:17:01as thousands come to eat and drink, buy and sell, see and be seen,
0:17:01 > 0:17:04race camels and generally celebrate
0:17:04 > 0:17:07living in a land without boundaries.
0:17:07 > 0:17:09SHRIEKS
0:17:09 > 0:17:14Un ami? 'For Doulla and Perri, it's also a chance to go shopping.'
0:17:14 > 0:17:17Alaykum as-salaam. Marhaba.
0:17:17 > 0:17:22- Halak zain.- Halak zain.- Halak muhhi. - I don't know all the rest.
0:17:22 > 0:17:24I only know the start.
0:17:24 > 0:17:28There's 17 different things we have to say.
0:17:28 > 0:17:34- So, what are we going to buy?- I want to buy the sugar.- Sugar. Sucre.
0:17:34 > 0:17:37- For 80 personnes, so... - 80 personnes.
0:17:37 > 0:17:41So, that's 80 people you're getting provisions for.
0:17:42 > 0:17:45Will you stay four days here?
0:17:45 > 0:17:49I don't know. I want to dance and see people.
0:17:49 > 0:17:52So, you're going to buy new clothes here?
0:17:52 > 0:17:55I want to come see this man.
0:17:58 > 0:18:03Perri's a bit of a dude, isn't he? Perri always looks rather dashing.
0:18:03 > 0:18:05- Mine is...- Is this new too?- Oui.
0:18:05 > 0:18:08- This is very old.- That's old.
0:18:08 > 0:18:13- Yeah.- Not very well worn. - Oh, yes, look at that.
0:18:13 > 0:18:15Something like this.
0:18:15 > 0:18:20You're so much... The clothes are so much more interesting than mine.
0:18:20 > 0:18:26- It's nothing.- These trousers, here they are in beige!- It's good, too.
0:18:26 > 0:18:31- I like these.- Me too, I like them. - You like them?- People like this.
0:18:31 > 0:18:32MICHAEL LAUGHS
0:18:34 > 0:18:37Bonjour!
0:18:40 > 0:18:43Qu'est-ce que c'est, ce chose ici?
0:18:43 > 0:18:46Ca, c'est le... C'est du sel.
0:18:46 > 0:18:49- Oh, that's salt?- Yeah.- Sel.
0:18:49 > 0:18:53- Du sel.- It looks like solid bars. - C'est de Bilma.
0:18:53 > 0:18:58- Ah - this is salt from Bilma, where the caravans go.- Pour les caravanes.
0:18:58 > 0:19:03The salt trade is the oldest in the Sahara,
0:19:03 > 0:19:07but Cure Salee is not stuck in the past.
0:19:07 > 0:19:11- It's a bit hot for ski-ing.- Yes. In the evening you can do.
0:19:11 > 0:19:16- Do you ski on sand? - Yeah, on sand. Ski for the desert.
0:19:16 > 0:19:20- Yeah?- Ski on desert, yeah. - Do you sink into the sand?
0:19:20 > 0:19:24- I have picture for these skis. - Have you got one?- Yes.
0:19:24 > 0:19:27- Let me show it first.- OK.
0:19:27 > 0:19:31- These are European skis, the same as snow skis?- Yes.
0:19:31 > 0:19:35Same as snow skis. Comment tu t'appelles?
0:19:35 > 0:19:42- Mon nom, c'est Abdul Qadir Danger. - Abdul Qadir Danger. Danger?- Yeah. - Abdul Qadir Danger. That's good.
0:19:42 > 0:19:47- Duel Magazine too.- Duel Magazine? It's a very good French magazine
0:19:47 > 0:19:50- for travellers.- Yes, I have picture.
0:19:50 > 0:19:54Abdul Danger - I'm not sure that gives me confidence.
0:19:54 > 0:19:59- That's right.- I am Michael Cowardly. - Michael Cowardly.- Highly cowardly.
0:19:59 > 0:20:02- Michael Cowardly.- That's very nice.
0:20:02 > 0:20:04Oh, well. I'll think about it.
0:20:04 > 0:20:06Just amazing.
0:20:06 > 0:20:11So I'll have two African masks, and a course of skiing lessons, please!
0:20:11 > 0:20:14MEN SING
0:20:14 > 0:20:15As evening approaches,
0:20:15 > 0:20:20the crowds gather one of the day's highlights - a mass Gerewol.
0:20:23 > 0:20:27Back at base, Raine and the other Wodaabe prepare to join the dance.
0:20:36 > 0:20:39They'll be facing some strong competition.
0:20:52 > 0:20:56Raine and the boys make final checks in the plastic hand mirrors
0:20:56 > 0:21:00that every self-respecting Wodaabe lad carries with him.
0:21:06 > 0:21:09With ostrich headdresses rounding off the outfit,
0:21:09 > 0:21:11they're ready for the big time.
0:21:25 > 0:21:28MEN SING AND CLAP RHYTHMICALLY
0:21:28 > 0:21:32Raine's already looking around, maybe wondering where Goode is,
0:21:32 > 0:21:35maybe on the lookout for some action himself.
0:21:35 > 0:21:38For this, it seems, is what Cure Salee is all about -
0:21:38 > 0:21:43the one time in a hard year when tribes who live on the move
0:21:43 > 0:21:46can stop in the same place at the same time,
0:21:46 > 0:21:51to exchange contacts, advice, and of course, widen the gene pool.
0:22:06 > 0:22:10I've benefited from Cure Salee as well,
0:22:10 > 0:22:18finding a group of Tuareg who will let us join them on a salt caravan leaving from a nearby village.
0:22:18 > 0:22:22The journey will take us across an arid furnace of desert,
0:22:22 > 0:22:25but on our way to the village, the almost unbelievable happens.
0:22:28 > 0:22:30Well, there IS water in the Sahara.
0:22:30 > 0:22:34When the rainy season hits, it's dramatic.
0:22:34 > 0:22:39This morning, I could have walked up here. It has happened within a day.
0:22:39 > 0:22:43Rains have fallen somewhere - I don't know where.
0:22:43 > 0:22:47This will probably come up to my waist height,
0:22:47 > 0:22:50and in a week it'll be dry again.
0:22:50 > 0:22:58At the oasis of Tabelot, this water stays close enough to the surface to create a minor miracle.
0:22:58 > 0:23:00This is like the Garden of Eden.
0:23:00 > 0:23:08'And this is Omar, the man who'll soon be leading me and the camel train across the burning sands.'
0:23:08 > 0:23:10- Orange.- Orange, ah! Merci.
0:23:10 > 0:23:13C'est bon - rafraichissant.
0:23:20 > 0:23:23- Tu vois bien.- Ah, c'est le...puits?
0:23:23 > 0:23:28'All the water has to be brought up from below the surface.
0:23:28 > 0:23:31'This well is some 50 feet deep.
0:23:31 > 0:23:36'A camel works the winch and a bag moves water to irrigation channels.
0:23:36 > 0:23:41'It's a method as old as the Bible - probably older.
0:23:46 > 0:23:49'And it works.
0:23:49 > 0:23:52'The fields of Tabelot are rich in onions, carrots, maize and millet,
0:23:52 > 0:23:58'whilst trees provide orange, fig, pomegranate and, of course, dates,
0:23:58 > 0:24:03'which, when ripe, are wrapped in bags to keep the birds off them.'
0:24:03 > 0:24:06Quel est le plus grand?
0:24:06 > 0:24:10- Le plus grand c'est 20 metres. - 20 metres? 60 feet. 60 feet up?
0:24:10 > 0:24:13- Il monte?- Oui.
0:24:13 > 0:24:17- Crikey. So, he gets up 60 feet to get the dates.- Oui.
0:24:17 > 0:24:20HE YELLS
0:24:23 > 0:24:26And drops his load.
0:24:32 > 0:24:35I just... I only wanted three!
0:24:35 > 0:24:37Mmm.
0:24:37 > 0:24:39Wowee.
0:24:41 > 0:24:44Merci. Merci beaucoup.
0:24:49 > 0:24:54'Omar's home is in the centre of the village, a mile or so from the well.
0:24:54 > 0:25:00'He's taking me to meet his family. They speak only Arabic or Tamahaq,
0:25:00 > 0:25:05'the language of the Tuareg, but Omar has better French than me.'
0:25:05 > 0:25:10Quatre femmes et... 'He tells me he has four wives and 15 children.'
0:25:10 > 0:25:13- 15 children?- Oui.
0:25:13 > 0:25:16- You are riche.- No.
0:25:16 > 0:25:21- C'est un probleme d'avoir... quatre femmes, pour gagner?- Oui...
0:25:21 > 0:25:26'Though he smiles easily enough, things are not as rosy as they look.
0:25:26 > 0:25:32'It's hard finding money to buy food and medicine for all the children,
0:25:32 > 0:25:37- 'particularly the little ones, who can't work.'- C'est un peu dur.- Yeah.
0:25:37 > 0:25:41- Comme il y a des petits enfants. - Yeah.
0:25:41 > 0:25:45- So, it's...- C'est pas facile. - C'est difficile.
0:25:45 > 0:25:49'His wives seem to be of different ages
0:25:49 > 0:25:53'and I ask if there are problems with all four under the same roof.'
0:25:53 > 0:25:59- ..quatre femmes dans le...meme maison.- Beaucoup de problemes.
0:25:59 > 0:26:04'Yes, he says, there are many problems. They all seem
0:26:04 > 0:26:07'to boil down to the same thing - jealousy.'
0:26:07 > 0:26:10- Jalousie.- Jealousy?- Oui.
0:26:11 > 0:26:14Mais peut-etre, si vous...
0:26:14 > 0:26:16Si tu as...
0:26:16 > 0:26:23'Wouldn't it be easier, I ask in my impertinent Western way, to have one wife?'
0:26:23 > 0:26:30- With one woman, it's easy. One wife, pas difficile. - Pas difficile.- So, maybe...
0:26:30 > 0:26:34- Mais avec quatre femmes, c'est tres difficile.- Yeah. Pourquoi...?
0:26:34 > 0:26:38'Omar agrees that it would probably be much easier,
0:26:38 > 0:26:45'but then, as he puts it, he wants lots of children, so he needs lots of wives.'
0:26:45 > 0:26:48- You've got a lot of children.- Oui.
0:26:48 > 0:26:53'I think, in his own way, Omar likes the idea of starting a dynasty.'
0:26:56 > 0:26:59LIVELY DRUMMING AND SINGING
0:26:59 > 0:27:05The night before the camel train leaves for Bilma, there's a party.
0:27:07 > 0:27:15The dancing gets wilder and wilder, as the men strut every step they know to impress the women,
0:27:15 > 0:27:18and there's no sitting it out.
0:27:34 > 0:27:39The local boys are tireless, happy to raise the sand all night long,
0:27:39 > 0:27:45but for us oldies it's time for bed. There's a long, hard journey ahead.
0:27:56 > 0:28:01Early morning in Tabelot and the great day of departure has arrived.
0:28:01 > 0:28:04With these men and beasts
0:28:04 > 0:28:08I'll share the Sahara's most desolate corners.
0:28:08 > 0:28:12- Est-ce qu'il y a cette...? C'est le chameau?- Oui.- OK.
0:28:14 > 0:28:16Merci.
0:28:17 > 0:28:20Got more important things to put on first.
0:28:21 > 0:28:24This is straw in here.
0:28:24 > 0:28:29I asked him if it's for the camel to eat. He said no, for us.
0:28:29 > 0:28:31You don't get much to eat. Sorry.
0:28:33 > 0:28:36There are nine chameliers, or cameliers,
0:28:36 > 0:28:42in our party, and 30 camels, most of which are of the white, docile type
0:28:42 > 0:28:46beloved by the Tuareg of the Air mountains.
0:28:46 > 0:28:49CAMEL BELLOWS
0:28:49 > 0:28:55'My camel, I note, is neither white nor docile, but brown and stroppy.'
0:28:55 > 0:28:57Whoa!
0:28:59 > 0:29:04So excited to have my bag on board that he wanted to make off with it.
0:29:04 > 0:29:07- Il a un nom?- Oui. Ekowik.
0:29:07 > 0:29:10- Kowik?- Ekowik.
0:29:10 > 0:29:12Kowik.
0:29:12 > 0:29:16Kowik, I think, means "he who takes foreigners".
0:29:21 > 0:29:23- Ekowik.- Ekowik.
0:29:27 > 0:29:32'We're ready to go. Everything we need must be carried by the camels,
0:29:32 > 0:29:35'except fresh food, which walks.'
0:29:35 > 0:29:39Well, here we go. Not quite sure about me yet.
0:29:39 > 0:29:43- CAMEL GRUNTS - Come on.
0:29:45 > 0:29:50Well, this is it. It's not quite what I expected when I'd...
0:29:50 > 0:29:55Camel rides on the beach or once round the pyramid. This is for real.
0:29:55 > 0:29:59I've failed already. I got him a few yards.
0:30:02 > 0:30:04So we leave Tabelot,
0:30:04 > 0:30:09a modest caravan compared to the one which left here in 1922,
0:30:09 > 0:30:14observed by one Captain Buchanan, who estimated it at six miles long.
0:30:28 > 0:30:30Come on, Ekowik.
0:30:46 > 0:30:50It's 350 miles across the desert to Bilma
0:30:50 > 0:30:53and I shall be leaving before that
0:30:53 > 0:30:57and branching north, towards the Algerian border.
0:31:08 > 0:31:13'As we pass out of the mountains, Omar takes me aside
0:31:13 > 0:31:16'to show me some of the extraordinary rock art
0:31:16 > 0:31:20'that covers this part of the Sahara.'
0:31:20 > 0:31:26- C'est quel age?- Vers six mille. - Ah, six mille. 6,000 years.- Oui.
0:31:26 > 0:31:306,000 years old! 'Some say they're men from outer space.
0:31:30 > 0:31:36'Others say they're ancestors of the Wodaabe, but the animals they depict
0:31:36 > 0:31:40'are taken as proof that, not long ago,
0:31:40 > 0:31:43'the Sahara was a green and fertile place.'
0:31:52 > 0:31:59Since the last ice age ended, the Sahara and its wildlife have borne the brunt of global warming.
0:31:59 > 0:32:06Now the camel, introduced from Arabia, has this wilderness almost to itself.
0:32:31 > 0:32:36It looks rather pleasant and gentle this pace, ambling through the sand,
0:32:36 > 0:32:41but it's very deceptive cos this is really stark desert.
0:32:41 > 0:32:47This is killer landscape, because there is no water and no shelter,
0:32:47 > 0:32:49so you go slowly to survive
0:32:49 > 0:32:56and if you didn't have water or friends around, that would be it within 24 hours.
0:33:03 > 0:33:09The camel - or dromedary, as these single-humped animals are known -
0:33:09 > 0:33:12is a marvellous desert machine.
0:33:12 > 0:33:16Their weight is so finely balanced, they leave barely a mark.
0:33:16 > 0:33:21Provided they can graze, they can last two weeks without water
0:33:21 > 0:33:26and they can carry loads of up to 500 pounds over enormous distances.
0:33:27 > 0:33:30Camels changed the history of the Sahara.
0:33:30 > 0:33:37Without them, 2,000 years of trade, war, expansion and exploration would never have happened.
0:33:40 > 0:33:43It's getting now to midday,
0:33:43 > 0:33:47the peak of heat. We're seeking a tree.
0:33:47 > 0:33:51You just have to keep drinking lots of water.
0:33:51 > 0:33:56The other thing which is nice about it is the camels dictate the pace
0:33:56 > 0:33:58but also the mood.
0:33:58 > 0:34:02It's the sort of continuous, unchanging rhythm,
0:34:02 > 0:34:06which is the way, I think, you survive this.
0:34:06 > 0:34:10Stopping and starting is more difficult.
0:34:10 > 0:34:17You've got to have shelter and all that, but camels just move on and become very reassuring presences.
0:34:17 > 0:34:20You don't want to be patted.
0:34:20 > 0:34:22But...
0:34:22 > 0:34:26I mean, there are good things about it.
0:34:26 > 0:34:31There are no flies. You don't get bitten by anything. There's no...
0:34:31 > 0:34:35undergrowth to catch your clothing on or get jabbed by,
0:34:35 > 0:34:39but...there's very little scope for action.
0:34:39 > 0:34:46More scope for imagination, so you think a lot...like why did I suggest doing this in the first place?
0:34:46 > 0:34:48Just a joke.
0:34:49 > 0:34:52Oh, a tree! Un arbre.
0:34:52 > 0:34:55- Omar...- Oui.- ..un arbre.
0:34:55 > 0:34:58- Un arbre pour nous? Chez nous?- Oui.
0:34:58 > 0:34:59Hurrah!
0:35:01 > 0:35:05This is where we're going to stop next.
0:35:05 > 0:35:07It's two-star,
0:35:07 > 0:35:10so, basically, no swimming pool.
0:35:10 > 0:35:13No room service.
0:35:13 > 0:35:16No roof, no stairs...
0:35:16 > 0:35:20no rooms, actually, but it sounds jolly good.
0:35:23 > 0:35:25How much is in the water?
0:35:34 > 0:35:36Merci.
0:35:42 > 0:35:44Merci, Omar.
0:35:44 > 0:35:47HE LAUGHS
0:35:51 > 0:35:55Lovely the way they go down, sort of fold up, like...
0:35:55 > 0:35:58collapsible tables.
0:36:17 > 0:36:21This is what they eat off the acacia tree,
0:36:21 > 0:36:24but to get at the greenery
0:36:24 > 0:36:28there are these amazingly long, sharp thorns.
0:36:28 > 0:36:31A couple of inches long. Incredibly sharp.
0:36:31 > 0:36:37They just sort of chomp that off. I wonder what goes on in their mouths
0:36:37 > 0:36:40between the tongue and the gullet.
0:36:40 > 0:36:44I wouldn't eat this... even in a sandwich.
0:36:44 > 0:36:46Well, possibly in a sandwich.
0:36:46 > 0:36:49I'd eat anything at the moment.
0:36:57 > 0:37:00MICHAEL HUMS
0:37:07 > 0:37:08OK.
0:37:11 > 0:37:13C'est bon.
0:37:24 > 0:37:28The midday temperatures peak at around 56 Celsius
0:37:28 > 0:37:33and only in late afternoon, when the day cools off, is it safe to leave.
0:37:39 > 0:37:42The heat dictates everything.
0:37:42 > 0:37:46Because of it, Omar and his men sometimes leave at 4am,
0:37:46 > 0:37:50but they still aim to walk 14 or 15 hours a day.
0:37:51 > 0:37:54Woohoooo!
0:37:55 > 0:37:58I don't know about the camels,
0:37:58 > 0:38:02but I find walking on this soft sand the most tiring.
0:38:02 > 0:38:06Izambar Mohammed, the camel singer, watches out for flagging spirits.
0:38:06 > 0:38:09SHARP CRY
0:38:11 > 0:38:15- SINGING - The tree you see over there...
0:38:17 > 0:38:22Your expectations become so low that one tree becomes a luxury object.
0:38:22 > 0:38:27You can understand what an oasis means to these people.
0:38:27 > 0:38:30Everything's just pared down.
0:38:33 > 0:38:35Very minimal expectations.
0:38:41 > 0:38:44SINGING CONTINUES
0:39:20 > 0:39:27The main social event of the day is the evening meal - usually bread, dates and cheese, but tonight,
0:39:27 > 0:39:30in my honour, there'll be a stew.
0:39:30 > 0:39:33Everyone has a job to do.
0:39:33 > 0:39:36Omar and Izambar kill the sheep,
0:39:36 > 0:39:39Osman bakes bread in a sand oven
0:39:39 > 0:39:44and Moussa plaits twine to secure the camel loads.
0:39:44 > 0:39:46I'm still recovering.
0:39:52 > 0:39:56There's nowhere to sit. That's what I really miss most.
0:39:56 > 0:40:01I'm sitting here, but this is their bedding and the animals' food,
0:40:01 > 0:40:04so I can't really sit here for long.
0:40:04 > 0:40:07They don't believe in chairs.
0:40:07 > 0:40:13After a long walk, it'd be nice to just flop down on a chaise longue.
0:40:13 > 0:40:17That's what I'd bring if I had a camel train.
0:40:17 > 0:40:19Camels stacked with chairs!
0:40:19 > 0:40:22Reading lamps and a television.
0:40:22 > 0:40:25Possibly a small bar and a fridge.
0:40:25 > 0:40:29Front door bell, stairs and maybe a couple of friends.
0:40:31 > 0:40:34THEY SPEAK IN DIALECT
0:41:18 > 0:41:23It's something thick and coarse and heavy and rather unappetising.
0:41:23 > 0:41:26- Taguella.- Togella.
0:41:26 > 0:41:29- Taguella.- Togella.- Taguella.
0:41:29 > 0:41:32Taguella. Ca, c'est le taguella.
0:41:32 > 0:41:35- Tagilla.- Taguella.- Taguella.
0:41:35 > 0:41:37Nice.
0:41:37 > 0:41:40It's more like cake, really.
0:41:40 > 0:41:44Like a big chunk of cake we used to have at school.
0:41:44 > 0:41:46Mmm.
0:41:46 > 0:41:50Nice hard, crispy outside. Very good.
0:41:50 > 0:41:53- Taguella.- Taguella!
0:41:53 > 0:41:56You have to get the emphasis right.
0:41:56 > 0:41:59Ta-GUE-lla probably means buttock.
0:41:59 > 0:42:02Taguell-A means this lovely cake.
0:42:13 > 0:42:16You're a great audience. Thank you.
0:42:16 > 0:42:20I think I'm wrong here, another breach of etiquette,
0:42:20 > 0:42:24because they seem to be breaking up the...taguella?
0:42:24 > 0:42:29..into the bowl here, so I suppose they're going to put sauce on it,
0:42:29 > 0:42:34but you're popping a bit in your mouth too, so I'll do that.
0:42:34 > 0:42:37- Un peu tageulla.- Un peu taduella.
0:42:37 > 0:42:40Un peu taduella.
0:42:40 > 0:42:43- Taguella. Taguella.- Taguella.
0:42:43 > 0:42:47They're probably teaching me all the wrong words.
0:42:48 > 0:42:51Probably saying...
0:42:51 > 0:42:54THEY SPEAK AMONGST THEMSELVES
0:42:58 > 0:43:00Taguella. Taguella.
0:43:00 > 0:43:02Taguella.
0:43:05 > 0:43:09It's a minimalist joke, but it's going very well.
0:43:09 > 0:43:12Ah, this looks like the...
0:43:13 > 0:43:15..the meat.
0:43:18 > 0:43:25It's an odd feeling to be eating one of the three creatures I've got to know quite well as we walk along.
0:43:25 > 0:43:30The camels are up there and the sheep and the goat are rather sweet
0:43:30 > 0:43:37and they get kicked about and no-one seems to care about them. I rather identified with them...
0:43:37 > 0:43:41and one has now been dispatched, and the others...
0:43:41 > 0:43:46It's swinging on the bush and the other two are looking around...
0:43:46 > 0:43:49"I wonder what happened to Bert."
0:43:49 > 0:43:52They don't seem too concerned.
0:43:52 > 0:43:56He laid down his life for a good cause.
0:43:56 > 0:44:03This is a banquet for Tuaregs, because they rarely have meat on a long journey. They have couscous.
0:44:03 > 0:44:08There'll be a lot of sand in it, especially with the wind blowing.
0:44:10 > 0:44:13- Tagine. Izzot.- Oh.
0:44:13 > 0:44:16- For me?- Oui.- Thank you.
0:44:17 > 0:44:20THEY LAUGH
0:44:31 > 0:44:33- Izzot.- Izzot.
0:44:33 > 0:44:36Is very hot, but it's good.
0:44:38 > 0:44:39This is lovely.
0:44:41 > 0:44:43Mmm.
0:44:43 > 0:44:45- Izzot.- Izzot.- Izzot.
0:44:45 > 0:44:48Very good.
0:44:57 > 0:45:00CAMEL BELLOWS
0:45:10 > 0:45:15It's much more sensible than any hat you could buy,
0:45:15 > 0:45:18because...it's really cool.
0:45:18 > 0:45:23You have to tie it quite securely, because all the walking loosens it,
0:45:23 > 0:45:26but it's cool and it keeps dust off,
0:45:26 > 0:45:31- so you can put it right over, can't you?- Up way.- Sorry. My dresser.
0:45:31 > 0:45:34And general looker-after.
0:45:46 > 0:45:51I'd like to be able to see out of it and not walk into a camel.
0:45:51 > 0:45:54Brilliant. And this can go up...
0:45:57 > 0:45:59Voila.
0:46:01 > 0:46:03- Et tu fais ca.- Thank you.
0:46:03 > 0:46:05Merci.
0:46:07 > 0:46:11- HE LAUGHS - There - ready for the route.
0:46:11 > 0:46:14Dust...and it's very, very cool.
0:46:14 > 0:46:18It's excellent, isn't it? Merci.
0:46:18 > 0:46:20CAMEL MOANS
0:46:29 > 0:46:33One thing I've got rather used to about the camels
0:46:33 > 0:46:40is the strange rumblings that go around the camp whenever they're being loaded up or put down.
0:46:40 > 0:46:44You can hear one now, and it's almost like a language
0:46:44 > 0:46:49and I'm not quite sure what it is - is it anger, is it protest
0:46:49 > 0:46:52or just, "Here we go again"?
0:46:52 > 0:46:55But they make their presence felt.
0:46:55 > 0:47:00"We're not meant to do this. We're not meant to be beasts of burden."
0:47:02 > 0:47:06I shall develop a noise of my own to go with it.
0:47:06 > 0:47:09Nyyyiip! Nyyoooiii!
0:47:09 > 0:47:13- LAUGHTER - Good. It works.
0:47:33 > 0:47:40We're now into what my French guidebook calls "desert absolut" - absolute desert.
0:47:40 > 0:47:45The earth stripped clean, as bare as a glacier, featureless as the sea.
0:47:45 > 0:47:51The outside world is SO far away as to be almost irrelevant.
0:47:51 > 0:47:57I can understand why so many religions were born in the desert.
0:47:57 > 0:48:01The outside is SO hostile, you have to look inside.
0:48:14 > 0:48:19Just as I begin to achieve spiritual harmony with this great emptiness,
0:48:19 > 0:48:26I'm reminded that in this century the outside world is always closer than you think. We're not alone.
0:48:26 > 0:48:29MOTOR HUMS
0:48:46 > 0:48:50A French paraglider swoops down over us,
0:48:50 > 0:48:53a video camera at the ready.
0:48:53 > 0:48:58I feel he's intruding on our space, but deep down I'm probably jealous.
0:48:58 > 0:49:06You've been to many deserts in the world. Do you have a favourite, one place that you find most rewarding?
0:49:06 > 0:49:10I've been, yes, to different place. I like this one,
0:49:10 > 0:49:16because the Sahara, there is an authentic life here, still alive.
0:49:16 > 0:49:19Well, it's a great machine.
0:49:19 > 0:49:25Can you do some work with us? Get up in the air and we'll have our boys here.
0:49:25 > 0:49:28Is it OK to have another camera?
0:49:29 > 0:49:32Oh, sorry.
0:49:32 > 0:49:35A few sweeties and he'd be all right.
0:50:29 > 0:50:33This might be just a streak of Yorkshire puritanism,
0:50:33 > 0:50:38but I don't want the Sahara to become an adventure playground
0:50:38 > 0:50:43and after the excitement I'm glad to be back with people who live here.
0:51:13 > 0:51:17Phew! It seems a bit bizarre having a fire in the Sahara
0:51:17 > 0:51:22after it's been 132 degrees Fahrenheit this afternoon,
0:51:22 > 0:51:2556 centigrade,
0:51:25 > 0:51:28but it gets quite cold at night.
0:51:28 > 0:51:33It goes down to about, well... It can get as low as the high 80s.
0:51:34 > 0:51:39You know, sort of 40 degrees, 38 degrees at night
0:51:39 > 0:51:42and oddly enough it seems cold.
0:51:42 > 0:51:47Anyway, it's just nice to have a fire. Very friendly, companionable.
0:51:47 > 0:51:52- I can make my joke about...izzot! - Izzot.- You see, it goes down a bomb.
0:51:52 > 0:51:55- Izzot.- Izzot...
0:52:16 > 0:52:19Oh, pour moi? Merci, merci.
0:52:19 > 0:52:23- Si tu veux... - This is a bit of the cheese, yeah.
0:52:23 > 0:52:25Mmm.
0:52:27 > 0:52:31- Takuma.- Guma.- Takuma.
0:52:31 > 0:52:35- You're going to teach me another word, aren't you?- Takuma.
0:52:35 > 0:52:38- Takuma.- Al fatur.
0:52:38 > 0:52:41- Hm?- Al fatur.- Al fatur.
0:52:41 > 0:52:44- THEY LAUGH Shay.- Shay.
0:52:44 > 0:52:47You're teaching me rude words...
0:52:47 > 0:52:49THEY LAUGH
0:52:51 > 0:52:54Ah, these little Tuareg soirees!
0:52:58 > 0:53:01The cheese is nice. Very nice.
0:53:01 > 0:53:03Cheers.
0:53:03 > 0:53:06En anglais, nous disons "Cheers!"
0:53:06 > 0:53:09Cheers! Down the hatch.
0:53:10 > 0:53:12Bottoms up.
0:53:12 > 0:53:17- THEY SPEAK IN DIALECT - Bottoms up.- Bottom...
0:53:17 > 0:53:20- Bottom.- Bottom.- Bottoms.- Bottoms.
0:53:20 > 0:53:23- Up.- Up.- Yeah, great!
0:53:23 > 0:53:27- Bottoms up.- Bottoms up.- Bottoms up. - Bottoms up.
0:53:27 > 0:53:30- THEY LAUGH - Izzot!
0:53:32 > 0:53:35Ah, very good.
0:53:35 > 0:53:38- Bottoms up.- Bottoms up.
0:53:39 > 0:53:42- Shay.- Shay.- Izzot.- Izzot.
0:53:42 > 0:53:45- Al fatur.- Al fatur.
0:53:45 > 0:53:49- THEY LAUGH Takuma.- Takuma.
0:53:52 > 0:53:54Takuma.
0:53:56 > 0:53:59- Takuma.- Oh, not again. Takuma.
0:53:59 > 0:54:01- Al fatur.- Al fatur.
0:54:01 > 0:54:03- Shay.- Shay.
0:54:03 > 0:54:06- Izzot.- Izzot!
0:54:07 > 0:54:10- Bottoms up.- Bottoms up.
0:54:10 > 0:54:13God bless Her Majesty.
0:54:13 > 0:54:16THEY CHUCKLE
0:54:17 > 0:54:19- Bottoms up.- Bottoms up.
0:54:54 > 0:54:57Omar helps me load up for the last time.
0:54:57 > 0:55:03Today our ways will part and already they've someone new to look after.
0:55:08 > 0:55:13This gazelle was found abandoned by its mother at the campsite
0:55:13 > 0:55:17and they're going to keep it as a pet.
0:55:17 > 0:55:20This is not one for the pot.
0:55:20 > 0:55:24There are gazelles in the Sahara desert. It's amazing.
0:55:24 > 0:55:28I know there are camels and lots of smaller animals,
0:55:28 > 0:55:33but there are gazelles roaming in the depths of the desert
0:55:33 > 0:55:36and this one, I think, will hopefully survive.
0:55:36 > 0:55:39It's got amazing ears.
0:55:40 > 0:55:43Yes...
0:55:44 > 0:55:47We'll look after you, won't we?
0:55:58 > 0:56:01It's always the way, isn't it?
0:56:01 > 0:56:06Just as I'm learning how to cope, it's time to move on.
0:56:06 > 0:56:09I shall miss all this - the regular rhythm,
0:56:09 > 0:56:13the reassuring pattern of life on the move.
0:56:13 > 0:56:18I shall miss Omar and Izambar and all the team who've looked after me.
0:56:18 > 0:56:22Even Ekowik and the camels, though they won't miss me.
0:56:22 > 0:56:27I've learnt a lot - maybe not enough to start a religion,
0:56:27 > 0:56:30but a clearer view of basic truths.
0:56:30 > 0:56:34If you don't respect your environment, you die. It's simple.
0:56:40 > 0:56:44'Omar will doubtless be delighted to see the back of us.
0:56:44 > 0:56:50'He can get back to the business of bringing the salt back from Bilma.'
0:56:50 > 0:56:52Au revoir.
0:56:52 > 0:56:55Merci. Merci, Omar, pour tout.
0:56:55 > 0:56:58Bon voyage.
0:56:59 > 0:57:01Bye. Merci, merci.
0:57:01 > 0:57:06- Merci.- Merci.- Merci pour tout. Merci pour tout.
0:57:06 > 0:57:09Heeey! You like that shirt, don't you?
0:57:09 > 0:57:12Oh! OK.
0:57:12 > 0:57:15Bon voyage. Au revoir. Merci.
0:57:16 > 0:57:19Ah! Bottoms up.
0:57:19 > 0:57:22HE PRETENDS TO CRY
0:57:22 > 0:57:26He's going to win the Oscar for this, isn't he?
0:57:26 > 0:57:29Stop it! It's my show!
0:57:29 > 0:57:31OK...
0:57:31 > 0:57:34Il vient avec moi.
0:57:34 > 0:57:37Oui, il vient avec moi.
0:57:37 > 0:57:41Merci, Omar. Merci. Tres, tres bon. Bon voyage.
0:57:41 > 0:57:44OK! Now, then, which way?
0:57:45 > 0:57:47Takuma.
0:57:47 > 0:57:49Photograph.
0:57:49 > 0:57:52- Bottom up.- Bottom up.
0:57:52 > 0:57:55- Bottom up.- Bottom up.- Takuma. - Izzot!- Izzot!
0:57:55 > 0:57:58THEY SHOUT OUT WORDS
0:58:09 > 0:58:11Au revoir.
0:58:33 > 0:58:36Right, let me see - Algeria.
0:58:36 > 0:58:42Over the mountain, past the oasis, down the gorge, left at the volcano.
0:58:42 > 0:58:45Should be there by Tuesday week.