An itinerary on the edge of the desert, winding its way through the Great Western Erg, touching on the marvellous Taghit and Beni Abbes Oases in the Oued Saoura region, continuing on to Timimoun and Adrar in the Gourara, and heading north until it reaches the Great Eastern Erg, between the Touggourt, El Oued and Biskra Oases.<\/b><\/p>\n
Enchanting desert landscapes, <\/b>at times harsh and rocky, on the eastern fringes of the Saharan Atlas, softened by immense expanses of sand and imposing dune belts over 100 metres high.<\/span> Places that so fascinated the <\/span>Swiss explorer Isabelle Eberhardt <\/b>that she travelled along these desolate tracks disguised as a man, settled here, converted to Islam and married in El Oued<\/b>, enraptured by the primordial richness of the local culture and the vastness of the sea of sand, by which she was finally betrayed, dying in 1904 in Ain-Sefra <\/b>when the wadi flooded her house.<\/p>\n The region of the main town, Bechar <\/b>is the starting point for discovering the oases of the Great Western Erg, including <\/b>one of its undisputed jewels, the Taghit Oasis<\/b>.<\/p>\n With its ancient history, testified to by numerous Neolithic remains, engravings and cave paintings, its ksar <\/b>is as sublime as traditional architecture can offer, in a cluster of red clay <\/b>buildings (the toub<\/i>) contrasting with the golden sand and rocks of the Djebel Baroun<\/b>, around the <\/span>village and the palm grove. <\/span>Thanks to the goodwill of the inhabitants, the historic centre has been partly restored after having been abandoned over the past few centuries, with many of its dwellings being converted into tourist accommodation facilities that preserve their original style. A maze of alleyways, between low arcades and narrow passages, in a magical, ancient atmosphere that reaches its peak during the traditional moussems<\/b>, the date harvest <\/b>and the hypnotic gatherings of gnawa <\/i>musicians<\/b>. It is framed by monumental dunes, petrified forests, natural wells, such as the one at Titaouine<\/b>, and archaeological sites, such as Barrebi <\/b>and its rock paintings.<\/p>\n Heading south, an unmissable stop is the green palm grove of the Igli Oasis<\/b>, before reaching the beautiful Beni Abbes<\/b>, lying on the banks of the Oued Saoura<\/b>, whose palm grove, irrigated by the foggara system<\/b>, winds in a curious shape resembling a scorpion. The ancient origins of its ksar date back to the 15th century, partly preserved by recent restoration and consolidation work on its clay walls and main houses. Its heart is dominated by a pleasant swimming pool surrounded by the greenery of the oasis, while not far from Beni Abbes is the famous hermitage that Charles de Foucauld <\/b>built in 1901, before marrying in Tamanrasset. The small but interesting museum <\/b>of geology and handicrafts is also worth a visit.<\/p>\n Turning south-west, in the heart of the colourful Gourara region, you reach the mythical Oasis of Timimoun<\/b>, an ancient caravan centre in the trans-Saharan trade in Heratin <\/i>slaves, particularly from Mali and Niger. Although the modern town was built in the 20th <\/b>century in the Neo-Sudanese style, the ruins of its 12th-century ksar <\/b>and the dividing walls of its vast palm grove have<\/span> retained their original appearance, with the intense reddish colour of the <\/span>toub <\/i>clay contrasting with the surrounding dunes and the green of the palm trees. An enchanting scenario for what is known as the “<\/span>Queen of the Desert”, <\/b>surrounded in turn by ancient ksour scattered on the rocky cliff, and lying not far from where a large salt lake (sebkha<\/i>) once stood, now an area rich in “<\/span>desert roses”<\/b>. From the Sudan Gate, to the Sidi Othmane Marabout, from the <\/span>former Oasis Rouge hotel of 1912, now a cultural centre, to the picturesque market, 20th-century buildings provide a neo-Sudanese backdrop to the medieval Almohad-style ksar. A swarm of typical handicrafts, <\/b>particularly textiles, are made by local craftsmen, counterbalancing the peace that can be breathed in the green palm grove, irrigated by the foggara, offering the two sides of Timimoun’s economy.<\/p>\n An important commercial hub between north and south, Adrar became the capital of Gourara in the 18th <\/b>century, thanks to its fertile oasis producing dates, tobacco, wheat, strawberries and tomatoes. Built<\/span> in the typical red clay style of the region, it also comes <\/span>alive during the traditional moussems, invaded by the sounds of ahallilche <\/i>music <\/b>accompanying the prayers and dances of the Zenetes and Berber populations. A compulsory stop before heading north-east, passing through In Salah and El Golea, Adrar is where we bid farewell to the Great Western Erg and enter the vast Great Eastern Erg<\/b>, a magnificent ocean of sand, home to the oases and palm groves of Ouargla, Biskra, Hassi Messaud, Tolga, Touggourt and El Oued<\/b>. A world of sugary dates and ksour dotted with palm trunks, of koubba domes, clay mausoleums <\/span>and ancient medieval mosques, of fossil rivers and seasonal wadis, but also a world of oil extraction that has generated the extreme contradictions of this ancient and fascinating desert land.<\/p>\n Passing through the immense Ouargla <\/b>palm grove <\/b>and the fascinating ruins of the ksar of Touggourt<\/b>, we arrive at the “<\/span>1000 domes” of El Oued<\/b>, in the heart of the Souf region, the sandy expanse that so fascinated Isabelle Eberhardt, who lived here for a few years, among the blinding roundness of the domes above the traditional dwellings, the palm groves sunk into the sand to draw water from the depths and the lively daily market.<\/span><\/p>\n Considered to be the gateway to the Algerian Great South, <\/b>the northern entrance to the Great Western Erg, Biskra <\/b>is the last stop on the <\/span>fascinating itinerary between the oases on the edge of the Sahara. <\/span>A historic city, an <\/span>important centre for date production, the ancient Roman Vecera <\/b>lies at the foot of the Zab and Aur\u00e9s Mountains and reached the height <\/span>of its importance between the <\/span>11th and 14th centuries. Among its stratified remains, its <\/b>scenery, diwane <\/i>sounds <\/b>and exotic atmospheres, many European intellectuals and artists of the 19th and 20th centuries found inspiration for their art, from Andr\u00e9 Gide to the Orientalists, from Matisse to the Hungarian composer Bartok, contributing to the “<\/span>romantic” reputation that still accompanies the city today.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12989,"parent":14495,"menu_order":0,"template":"","da_non_perdere":[67],"la_terra_e_gli_uomini":[],"buono_a_sapersi":[],"prima_di_partire":[],"class_list":["post-14537","info_viaggi","type-info_viaggi","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","da_non_perdere-algeria","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n