Page 9 - Traveling 71 eng

Ancient city of Tichit
Ouadane was another jewel of caravan
trade. Caravans coming from Timbuktu
arrived there, loaded with salt, gold, and
fabrics. Today, what remains is the old ci-
ty’s tiered structure, clinging to a hillside
as if still waiting for the camels’ return. Its
narrow alleyways and unadorned walls
say it all: life here was about endurance,
not display.
Tichitt and Oualata, further south, retain
the same strength. Oualata, with its faca-
des decorated in red and white, blends
austerity with a rare aesthetic sense. It’s
the point where rock art, Islam, and ver-
nacular architecture meet. Tichitt, even
more remote, is probably the least tou-
ched by time. Its isolation has protected
it, but also left it on the brink of disappea-
rance.
These cities aren’t visited—they are dis-
covered. Each holds a piece of the de-
sert’s soul. And the most valuable thing
isn’t what they show, but what they pro-
voke: these are places that can’t be exp-
lained; they must be walked, breathed in,
remembered.
AUTHORS’ JOURNEYS
Travelling to these cities is like re-
turning to a time when books were
copied by hand, routes didn’t follow
roads, and wisdom slept in adobe
libraries. Chinguetti and its desert
sisters don’t show what they once
were—they remain what they have
always been
City of Ouadane
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