Imagine a caravan of camels moving across an ocean of sand. There are no roads, no signposts, and no GPS—just endless dunes stretching to the horizon. Yet the travelers know exactly where they are ...

In a desolate section of the Sahara once ruled by the French, two thirsty men stumble into the camp of a Tuareg warrior where they're given water and shelter. Soldiers from the new Arab government now ...

For several decades, desert blues was a regional genre little known outside of the Sahara and Sahel. Only in the last 20 years has the genre emerged from the desert and established a musical niche in ...

The music of Mali's Tuareg people is music of resistance. Master traders of the Sahara desert for millenia, they've never enjoyed significant political power, and their musical culture reflects that ...

Henry Haselock is a qualified expedition leader, adventurer and fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. He has led many expeditions across the world and completed a world-first crossing on foot of ...

Tinariwen went from Saharan weddings to Grammy-winning acclaim – but violence has forced the desert blues masters into exile. Now, a new generation is stepping in to help Since their formation in 1979 ...

This story appears in the September 2011 issue of National Geographic magazine. Staff writer Peter Gwin received a grant to research the Tuareg from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting as part of ...