Vicuna's Travel Stories | Sunrise in the Desert

Burkina Faso is a country that has three different climatic areas. It’s mostly a land of the Sahel, very dry but with some vegetation and a short rainy season. The very south of the country is already in the tropical zone but the north still belongs to the Sahara desert. I had the opportunity to visit this area and witness a magical moment: a sunrise in the desert.

When heading north of Burkina Faso, you will quickly notice how the land and the people are different. People there look different, closer to the North African type. You will meet more Touareg people with their camels, the common drink is mint tea, and you eat more couscous, the typical North African meal. But you’re still in the same African country. Upon arrival in this desert zone, I couldn’t help but to think back to some scenes of this amazing movie, “Lawrence of Arabia” (even though if the movie takes place in the Middle East and not in Africa), that impressed me so much when I saw it for the first time as a child.

We camped for the night where the desert begins. Our guide told us that we’ll leave at 4:00 in the morning to watch the sunrise in the desert and have our breakfast there. It was so exciting to get up in the dark and hurry to not miss the sunrise. At first, the darkness was still there and we noticed how the night came to its end. Then, some wonderful colors began to appear in the deep blue sky—the first sign that the sun was ready to show up.

And suddenly, a tiny but strong red circle was seen coming out slowly and giving the whole area amazing colors. It was also surprising to discover where we were, as we sat on a sand dune guided by a local in the darkness. The light became stronger and stronger. We felt the power of the heat that came reveal the beauty of the desert, the sand dunes, the magical shadows, lines, curves, and other forms nature has given to this place. It’s really magical!

After this incredible moment, the day finally began and we had the chance to discover another fascinating place in the desert called the seven mosques of Bani. It’s one of the most important religious and cultural places in Burkina Faso and the Sahel area.

This little city of 4,000 people and surrounded by mountains and desert witnessed a “revelation” by a man named El Hadj Mohammed. The people from Bani say that he lived for 40 years in the desert. In 1979, he heard the voice of Allah in a dream asking him to built a mosque to show him the truth of his faith in Islam. He had no architectural knowledge at all, but immediately began to built a mosque in Bani with the help of all the locals. The only material they had was the typical red earth of this area, clay, and wood. But the work wasn’t finished. After the main mosque, he built six other mosques on the surrounding hills with a very precise plan (only the one he had in his dream, because there was never a written plan to built these). When linked together, as seen from the sky, they form the shape of a man praying to Allah and are all connected to the main mosque which is the center of this architectural complex. It’s a fascinating place to discover in the desert!

Previously:

• Vicuna's Travel Stories | On the Road in Burkina Faso
• Vicuna's Travel Stories | Ouagadougou: The Pulse of an African City

written by vicuna on 2015-09-16 #places #location #burkina-faso #regular-contributor #vicuna-travel-stories