Sahara Desert - The World's Largest Desert

The Sahara is the world's largest desert. Only a small part of the Sahara is fertile and it is here that corn, dates and other fruits grow. These parts are fed by underground rivers and oases. The Sahara can be an inspirational experience at night, with the air being crisp, clean and clear and the stars being so close you can almost touch them.

The Sahara desert stretches across much of North Africa covering over 9,000,000 square kilometers (roughly the size of the United States). In fact, the Sahara covers some 30% of the entire African continent. It is the hottest place in the world with summer temperatures that often exceeds 57 degrees Celsius. It has an annual rainfall of 0 - 25 millimeters and is very windy with windstorms sweeping the sand up to heights of 1000 meters and moving the sand dunes constantly.

The Sahara consists of one quarter volcanic mountains, one quarter sand, rocks and gravel-covered plains and small areas of vast permanent vegetation. The vegetation includes shrubs, grasses, and trees in the highland and in the oases along the river beds. Some of the plants are well adjusted to the climate since they sprout within three days of rain and sow their seeds within two weeks after that.

Animals in the Sahara are mainly Gerbils, Cape Hare, Deer, Weasels, Baboons, Jackals, Sand Foxes, Mongooses, Desert Hedgehogs and over 300 bird species.

The following towns and villages are located in the Sahara of Morocco:

Tata: Located where the desert meets the mountains, this small desert town has the reputation for being the hottest town in Morocco.

Tleta Tagmout: A desert oasis

Foum Zguid: Located where the Jebel Bani range meets the desert, this charming desert town boasts one of the largest palm groves in Morocco.

Zagora: Located in the magnificent Drâa Valley, this town is a popular starting for camel and 4x4 excursions into the desert. A sign proclaiming that it is 52 days to Timbuktu is one of the most photographed features of the town.

Tinfou: This small town is located along the Draa Valley route where the stony ground gives way to the sand-dunes of the desert.

Erg Chebbi: This settlement in the dunes of the Sahara offers basic tourist facilities for visitors exploring the enormous sand dunes.

Ouarzazate: Catering for the tourist trade, Ouarzazate has a number of hotels and visitors enjoy the typical Moroccan market in the city center. The Kasbah is beautifully preserved and gives in interesting glimpse into the lives of the people who live there.

Rissani: Also known as Tafilalt, a cluster of small villages around the town of Rissani, is located along the last stretch of the Ziz valley. The region has a long and fascinating history and was a kingdom separate from Morocco between the 8th and 14th centuries.

Merzouga: Located at the start of the oasis zone, inhabitants tap the underground water sources for drinking and irrigation purposes, and the area around the town is well cultivated.

Erfoud: This small oasis town is used by many travelers as a base for exploring the beautiful Ziz valley.

Popular activities in the Sahara include sunrise and sunset camel rides over the dunes, sleeping out under the desert skies, ATV/4X4 trips, visiting traditional Berber villages,

Music and Dance for War in Morocco

Berbers have been known for their impressive and heroic achievements in battles, and traditional Moroccan music and dance include some genres that were originally performed in times of war. Examples include the ahidni, ghiayta, and taskioine dances. With the emergence of the modern state in Africa, such war songs and dances only exist as cultural remnants. Participants may include both the educated and uneducated, the religious and nonreligious, the rural and urban dwellers, and so on. In some communities, both men and women participate; in others, war dances are only for men. Traditionally, the men wore or carried such war paraphernalia as swords, knives, rifles, arrows, sharpened sticks, and amulets as they danced to a particular war song. Of the different types of this genre, the ahidni dance is the most celebrated. Dancers stand close to one another in a circle, and as they sing, they rhythmically clap their hands and stomp their feet in an aggressive and belligerent manner.

Similarly, the ghiaytas war dance serves to provide soldiers with courage in preparation for a war and embodies a form of victory celebration. During the dance, the warriors, holding their rifles, move their bodies in response to the tune of pipes and the beat of drums. The performers shout rather than sing.

They carry their rifles on their heads, mimic the movements of soldiers in real combat situations, and then pretend to shoot at enemies. Dancing in a circle, the performers aim their rifles to the ground, and at the command of their leader fire blank shots. Among the Haha people of the High Atlas region, a simple reed flute with seven-holes takes the melody, and the rhythm is made by clapping and stomping to give a commanding and enchanting effect. The male performers dance in an aggressive manner that shows masculine passion.

The taskioine is another traditional warriors' dance exclusively for men. Wearing white tunics and turbans, with powder horns on their shoulders, the dancers respond to the beat of earthenware tambourines covered with skins. They make well-rehearsed sudden stops with aggressive stamping of the feet. Although the taskioine dance is more of a physical activity than an artistic performance, the aesthetic values are nevertheless present.

Another traditional war dance involves acrobatic displays from the brotherhood of Sidi Ahmed ou Moussa (or Hmaid ou Moussa, the saint of Tazeroualt, from the Anti-Atlas Mountains), who established a training center for acrobats at the village of Amizmiz near Marrakech. Originally, the young people of the area performed these exercises in preparation for their role as sharpshooters and archers. As traditional warfare gradually declined with the emergence of the modern nation-state in Africa, the young acrobats ofTazeroualt turned the skills associated with this traditional dance into a moneymaking circus. Some of the dancers have taken their talents overseas as entertainers in Europe and the United States. In the diaspora, the traditional elegant costumes with colorful embroidery have been largely retained.

NOTES

1. See W. Komla Amoaku, "Towards a Definition of Traditional African Music: A Look at the Ewe of Ghana," in Irene V. Jackson, ed., More Than Drumming (Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1985), 32.

2. Andalusia is the Arabic word for Spain; hence, the term Andalusian denotes the era of Arab conquest and control of parts of Spanish land.

3. See, for instance, Harold D. Nelson, ed., Morocco: A Country Study, 4th ed. (Washington, D.C.: American University Press, 1978), 140-141. See also Eugene Fodor and William Curtis, Fodor s Morocco 1973 (New York: David McKay, 1973),110-113.