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Algeria is a unique country.
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The largest country in Africa,
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it reaches across the Sahara Desert
to border Mali and Niger.
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00:00:31,255 --> 00:00:35,935
Yet for more than 100 years,
Algeria was officially French.
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Not merely a French colony,
but part of France herself.
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This is its story.
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00:00:44,055 --> 00:00:47,655
The story of Algiers,
a changing capital...
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00:00:49,295 --> 00:00:52,415
of the country's thousands of years
of history...
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00:00:56,615 --> 00:00:59,935
of its diversity,
from the mountains,
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00:01:00,095 --> 00:01:01,895
to the snowfields,
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00:01:02,055 --> 00:01:04,415
to the Mediterranean beaches.
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00:01:15,615 --> 00:01:18,055
The rural landscapes.
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00:01:21,095 --> 00:01:23,895
The gentle plains of the Mitidja
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00:01:24,055 --> 00:01:26,935
and the rolling hills
of Oran province.
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00:01:27,695 --> 00:01:29,775
The city of Oran.
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00:01:29,935 --> 00:01:31,855
The rocks of Constantine.
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00:01:33,695 --> 00:01:35,455
The Aures Mountains.
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00:01:40,815 --> 00:01:44,455
The vastness of the Sahara,
with its mirages...
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00:01:46,975 --> 00:01:50,295
The desert miracle of Ghardaia.
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00:01:56,055 --> 00:01:58,375
The Grand Erg,
the Hoggar highlands
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00:01:58,535 --> 00:02:00,575
and the Tassili n'Ajjer.
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00:02:05,975 --> 00:02:11,175
And the city of Sefar,
with its 15,000 cave paintings.
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00:02:30,175 --> 00:02:36,215
So we begin our journey
across Algeria... seen from above.
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00:02:48,895 --> 00:02:52,575
We leave the Oran plain
and head for Kabylia,
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00:02:52,735 --> 00:02:56,495
Algeria's mountains
and Tizi Ouzou.
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00:02:59,095 --> 00:03:02,415
After that we will head south
to Constantine,
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00:03:02,575 --> 00:03:06,375
the Aures Mountains
and... the desert.
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00:03:12,255 --> 00:03:16,495
Kabylia, and we enter
the Djurdjura hills.
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00:03:26,575 --> 00:03:30,855
After the open plains,
it looks like a natural fortress.
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00:03:31,015 --> 00:03:33,255
MEN SING IN ARABIC
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00:03:36,575 --> 00:03:41,695
In 1956, two years into
the Algerian War of Independence,
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00:03:41,855 --> 00:03:45,455
the nationalists held the Soummam
Conference in this region
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00:03:45,615 --> 00:03:48,175
under the very noses of the French.
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00:03:49,815 --> 00:03:52,575
Among the olive and fig trees
of the Soummam Valley,
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00:03:52,735 --> 00:03:57,175
they declared there would be no
ceasefire short of full independence,
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00:03:57,335 --> 00:04:01,855
a condition they stuck to
through thick and thin.
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00:04:26,975 --> 00:04:29,375
The villages are usually
set on the heights,
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00:04:29,535 --> 00:04:32,615
to guard against any threat
from outsiders.
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00:04:32,775 --> 00:04:35,775
Each rocky spur is inhabited.
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00:04:46,695 --> 00:04:49,455
The houses don't have many windows.
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00:04:49,615 --> 00:04:51,935
The winter can be cold.
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00:04:52,095 --> 00:04:54,615
WIND HOWLS
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00:05:01,135 --> 00:05:05,895
Arabic is spoken here,
but the local language is Kabyle.
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00:05:06,455 --> 00:05:08,975
It's a Berber language,
similar to Tamasheq,
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00:05:09,135 --> 00:05:11,615
spoken by the Tuaregs of the desert.
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00:05:13,895 --> 00:05:16,255
MAN SINGS
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To the west, on the high plateau,
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we come to an incredible
Roman site...
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00:05:55,215 --> 00:05:58,735
Cuicul modern Djemila.
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00:05:59,735 --> 00:06:03,375
This silent city reflects
how important it was to the Romans
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00:06:03,535 --> 00:06:05,415
to control the mountains.
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00:06:05,575 --> 00:06:08,215
The Kabyles were then the Numidians.
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00:06:08,375 --> 00:06:13,495
The Romans called them barbarians,
and the name stuck, as Berbers.
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00:06:18,975 --> 00:06:23,615
Cuicul dates from the time of the
Emperor Nerva, in the first century.
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00:06:24,655 --> 00:06:26,575
It's a true mountain city,
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00:06:26,735 --> 00:06:32,895
built on an outcrop 900 metres high
at the intersection of two valleys.
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00:06:37,295 --> 00:06:40,215
It was probably a wealthy city.
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00:06:41,495 --> 00:06:45,175
Today it is a UNESCO
World Heritage Site.
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The abandoned city is a reminder
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00:06:49,815 --> 00:06:52,775
that the Romans never
truly conquered the Berbers.
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00:06:52,935 --> 00:06:56,535
The Romans left, the Berbers stayed.
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00:06:58,895 --> 00:07:03,175
To the south are the remains
of another Roman city, Timgad,
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00:07:03,335 --> 00:07:06,015
founded by Trajan in the year 100
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00:07:06,175 --> 00:07:09,775
to house veterans
of the Third Augustan Legion.
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00:07:13,455 --> 00:07:16,215
Every building
evokes the power of Rome -
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00:07:16,375 --> 00:07:19,655
the triumphal arch, the eastern gate,
and the western gate,
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00:07:19,815 --> 00:07:23,055
restored by Marcus Aurelius.
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00:07:31,495 --> 00:07:35,775
The streets were paved with large
slabs of rectangular limestone,
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00:07:35,935 --> 00:07:39,815
and the floors of houses
with magnificent mosaics.
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00:07:41,375 --> 00:07:44,575
Timgad was destroyed by raiders
from the Aures Mountains
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00:07:44,735 --> 00:07:46,935
at the end of the 5th century.
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00:07:47,095 --> 00:07:50,495
Its stone was used for building
throughout the region.
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00:07:50,655 --> 00:07:55,895
But even in ruins, this site
in the heart of Algeria is unique.
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00:07:59,255 --> 00:08:02,615
It's an open-air lesson
in urban design.
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00:08:08,495 --> 00:08:10,935
Timgad exemplifies the grid pattern
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00:08:11,095 --> 00:08:13,655
on which many modern cities
are based.
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00:08:19,375 --> 00:08:23,495
The city of Constantine
embodies this Roman legacy.
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00:08:23,655 --> 00:08:29,015
Originally the Numidian capital of
Seerta, it became a Roman fortress,
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only to be destroyed
during a Roman civil war.
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00:08:33,335 --> 00:08:36,735
In 313 AD,
under the Emperor Constantine,
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00:08:36,895 --> 00:08:39,615
the stronghold was rebuilt
as a Roman city
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00:08:39,775 --> 00:08:42,255
and renamed in his honour.
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00:08:48,295 --> 00:08:51,575
Today, Constantine
stands high on its rock,
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00:08:51,735 --> 00:08:55,895
with a viaduct and many bridges
linking it to the land below.
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00:09:03,895 --> 00:09:09,015
It's known as the City of Bridges,
or the City of the Ancient Rock.
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00:09:11,775 --> 00:09:14,735
From 1838 to 1962,
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00:09:14,895 --> 00:09:19,895
Constantine was the capital of the
French Departement of the same name.
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00:09:20,055 --> 00:09:23,415
It remains the third-biggest city
in Algeria.
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00:09:34,455 --> 00:09:40,175
A city of culture, Constantine
is truly a jewel in Algeria's crown.
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00:10:00,295 --> 00:10:03,375
On the right is
the former French cathedral.
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00:10:03,535 --> 00:10:07,535
The dome is modelled
on Brunelleschi's in Florence.
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00:10:12,415 --> 00:10:15,575
Constantine is also
a city of ulamas
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00:10:15,735 --> 00:10:19,655
Muslim theologians who study
the Koran and prophetic tradition.
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00:10:19,815 --> 00:10:24,775
The Emir Abd El-Kader mosque
hosts an Islamic university.
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00:10:58,975 --> 00:11:03,935
Not far from Constantine is the
resort town of Hammam Maskhoutine.
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00:11:04,095 --> 00:11:06,335
It's a spa town
with very hot waters
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00:11:06,495 --> 00:11:10,255
laden with carbonate
that form petrified waterfalls.
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00:11:23,615 --> 00:11:25,735
Known as the 'bath of the damned',
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00:11:25,895 --> 00:11:29,335
these waters have treated skin
diseases and respiratory ailments
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00:11:29,495 --> 00:11:31,175
for centuries.
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00:11:41,375 --> 00:11:44,615
Further south,
the Aures region begins.
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00:11:45,935 --> 00:11:51,255
It's the land of the Chaoui people.
The Chaoui are Berbers.
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00:11:53,455 --> 00:11:57,215
Like the Kabyles,
the Chaoui are people of character.
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00:11:59,415 --> 00:12:02,735
In 1954, the uprising
against the French
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began in these deep gorges
with an ambush on a bus.
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00:12:07,895 --> 00:12:12,735
The Roufi canyon makes an ideal maze
for guerrilla warfare.
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00:12:14,375 --> 00:12:16,535
The Romans and the Arabs
in their time,
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00:12:16,695 --> 00:12:19,015
also came up against the Chaoui.
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00:12:19,175 --> 00:12:21,215
To defend themselves
against invaders,
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00:12:21,375 --> 00:12:24,695
they built homes deep
within the rocky crevasses.
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00:12:31,815 --> 00:12:35,735
Since then,
time seems to have stood still.
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00:12:35,895 --> 00:12:38,975
The Chaoui became stone cutters
and polishers -
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00:12:39,135 --> 00:12:43,455
a craft as hard and unforgiving
as the arid land.
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00:12:45,415 --> 00:12:48,735
WOMAN SINGS
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00:12:48,895 --> 00:12:51,575
The nomadic Berbers
and the scorched earth
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00:12:51,735 --> 00:12:55,295
are reminders
that the Sahara is not far away.
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00:13:00,215 --> 00:13:02,935
The desert seems
to advance inexorably.
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00:13:04,895 --> 00:13:07,815
But here is an incredible
experiment...
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00:13:07,975 --> 00:13:10,335
a barrier against the desert.
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00:13:10,495 --> 00:13:15,415
Hassi Babah...
a green belt planted in the 1970s.
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00:13:17,775 --> 00:13:21,415
A monumental achievement,
or an act of folly?
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00:13:21,575 --> 00:13:23,455
No one yet knows.
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00:13:23,615 --> 00:13:28,135
But millions of trees were planted...
a whole forest of Aleppo pines,
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00:13:28,295 --> 00:13:32,095
resinous trees that thrive
in arid soil.
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00:13:34,455 --> 00:13:38,215
The green belt was intended
to encircle the Sahara.
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00:13:39,735 --> 00:13:43,535
But the dream is threatened by
the pine processionary caterpillar,
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00:13:43,695 --> 00:13:46,055
which devours the pines.
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00:13:50,495 --> 00:13:53,775
So what is the encroaching desert
really like?
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00:13:55,455 --> 00:13:57,735
We enter the desert at Biskra.
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00:14:01,495 --> 00:14:05,255
It's literally an opening
in a rampart...
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00:14:05,975 --> 00:14:09,095
The wall of the Mzab Mountains.
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00:14:26,455 --> 00:14:29,815
Beyond Biskra, the landscape changes.
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00:14:29,975 --> 00:14:32,655
It's a vast field of sheep.
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00:14:36,975 --> 00:14:40,135
This desert steppe,
renowned for its flocks,
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00:14:40,295 --> 00:14:44,735
stretches over 200 kilometres west
to Djelfa.
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00:14:44,895 --> 00:14:48,015
People come from all over Algeria
to buy a sheep
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00:14:48,175 --> 00:14:51,935
for the Feast of the Sacrifice,
Eid al-Adha.
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00:14:52,095 --> 00:14:56,215
The most highly-prized breed is
named after a village on the plain,
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00:14:56,375 --> 00:14:58,655
Ouled Djellal.
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00:14:59,855 --> 00:15:04,095
More than four million sheep
are sold for sacrifice every year.
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00:15:04,255 --> 00:15:08,535
For a ten-year-old boy,
his first sheep is a milestone.
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00:15:16,135 --> 00:15:19,735
This region was once
covered in halfa grass,
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00:15:19,895 --> 00:15:22,935
but over-grazing
has depleted the land.
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00:15:23,975 --> 00:15:27,135
The summer is very hot.
From this point on,
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00:15:27,295 --> 00:15:31,335
the traveller has to watch his water
and fuel very carefully.
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00:15:36,160 --> 00:15:40,480
In front of us stretches
the largest hot desert in the world,
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bigger than the whole of Australia.
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00:15:44,800 --> 00:15:49,560
On the road ahead lie
El Oued, Ghardaia, El Menia,
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00:15:49,720 --> 00:15:53,560
Timimoun, Tamanrasset, Djanet...
150
00:15:55,120 --> 00:15:58,680
1600 kilometres through the desert.
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00:15:58,840 --> 00:16:02,520
The Trans-Sahara Highway
is your lifeline.
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00:16:03,600 --> 00:16:06,600
If you leave the road, you're lost.
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00:16:08,120 --> 00:16:11,880
The desert here is not really sand,
but rocks.
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00:16:12,800 --> 00:16:17,360
An endless expanse of rocks,
stretching as far as the horizon.
155
00:16:19,560 --> 00:16:23,440
As the sun rises,
the temperature climbs too.
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00:16:23,600 --> 00:16:27,800
The horizon blurs,
and the landscape becomes hazy.
157
00:16:27,960 --> 00:16:31,120
It's 35 degrees in the shade.
158
00:16:32,960 --> 00:16:37,160
The heat deforms the light,
creating strange forms.
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00:16:37,320 --> 00:16:38,880
Mirages!
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00:16:46,200 --> 00:16:49,000
They are deadly traps
for any wayward traveller.
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00:16:54,840 --> 00:16:59,920
As we come into the El Oued oasis,
our first stop in the desert,
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00:17:00,080 --> 00:17:02,960
there are signs of a dream project...
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00:17:03,120 --> 00:17:06,160
the dream of
making the desert arable.
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00:17:06,320 --> 00:17:08,440
Potatoes are planted here.
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00:17:08,600 --> 00:17:11,680
All that's needed is water.
166
00:18:12,360 --> 00:18:15,840
The Sahara has vast stores of water
deep in the ground,
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00:18:16,000 --> 00:18:18,920
the legacy of a distant past.
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00:18:19,080 --> 00:18:24,080
It's fossil water, which the rare
desert rains attempt to replenish.
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00:18:42,960 --> 00:18:46,480
The battle against the sands
is unwinnable.
170
00:18:47,920 --> 00:18:51,720
Agriculture at El Oued
is a modern-day mirage.
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00:18:52,840 --> 00:18:56,400
As the water is pumped up,
it becomes too salty
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00:18:56,560 --> 00:18:59,560
and so the fields have
to be moved constantly.
173
00:19:09,760 --> 00:19:15,160
Originally, El Oued survived with
date palms and subsistence farming.
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00:19:17,760 --> 00:19:22,040
But a million trees
have already died, asphyxiated.
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00:19:22,200 --> 00:19:27,640
Even worse, in some places the water
has been polluted by human waste.
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00:19:30,560 --> 00:19:33,200
El Oued is a large town.
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00:19:33,360 --> 00:19:38,360
The 'city of a thousand domes'
is home to over 100,000 people.
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00:19:38,520 --> 00:19:40,880
Tourism attracts even more.
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00:19:48,680 --> 00:19:51,360
With the installation
of running water in homes,
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00:19:51,520 --> 00:19:55,600
the deep-seated water reserves
show signs of depletion.
181
00:19:55,760 --> 00:19:57,480
The new town of El Oued
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00:19:57,640 --> 00:20:01,200
confronts the realities
of the deep desert south.
183
00:20:06,120 --> 00:20:08,440
You can see rain in the desert.
184
00:20:08,600 --> 00:20:12,000
The dunes glow with strange colours.
185
00:20:13,280 --> 00:20:15,680
The raindrops slide into the sand.
186
00:20:15,840 --> 00:20:18,360
And so there is some water here.
187
00:20:25,040 --> 00:20:29,920
Even further south, we reach one of
the desert's most beautiful cities.
188
00:20:32,560 --> 00:20:33,880
Ghardaia.
189
00:20:35,080 --> 00:20:40,880
An 11th-century citadel on the edge
of the Grand Erg, or Sand Sea.
190
00:20:44,800 --> 00:20:48,560
Ghardaia is the centre
of a group of five walled towns
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00:20:48,720 --> 00:20:51,840
known as the Mzab Pentapolis.
192
00:20:57,760 --> 00:21:00,960
According to legend,
it owes its name to Daia,
193
00:21:01,120 --> 00:21:05,080
a beautiful young girl
who was abandoned in a cave.
194
00:21:05,240 --> 00:21:08,560
Ghardaia means 'Daia's cave'.
195
00:21:12,840 --> 00:21:16,280
The perfection of the city
is fascinating.
196
00:21:56,320 --> 00:21:58,840
The Mozabites
were originally merchants
197
00:21:59,000 --> 00:22:02,080
who adhered to strict Muslim codes.
198
00:22:06,960 --> 00:22:10,760
Children didn't begin school
until the age of six.
199
00:22:10,920 --> 00:22:13,360
They were educated
within the community.
200
00:22:15,640 --> 00:22:19,360
But public schooling
is now obligatory for everyone,
201
00:22:19,520 --> 00:22:22,080
even in the middle of the desert.
202
00:22:23,760 --> 00:22:25,960
With an extraordinary unity,
203
00:22:26,120 --> 00:22:29,400
the town overlooks
a centuries-old palm grove
204
00:22:29,560 --> 00:22:31,920
that provides fruit and vegetables,
205
00:22:32,080 --> 00:22:35,000
and shade during hot weather.
206
00:22:35,160 --> 00:22:39,360
It's an island of life
in the great Saharan sand sea.
207
00:22:41,120 --> 00:22:44,120
Ghardaia's secret is water.
208
00:22:45,120 --> 00:22:47,040
It's over 1000 years old.
209
00:22:47,200 --> 00:22:51,040
And extraordinary irrigation
techniques were developed here.
210
00:22:51,200 --> 00:22:56,440
Each oasis has a network of channels
fed by wells or underground tunnels,
211
00:22:56,600 --> 00:22:58,200
called foggaras.
212
00:23:05,200 --> 00:23:08,360
Each channel pours water
into a basin.
213
00:23:08,520 --> 00:23:10,360
The flow rate is carefully measured
214
00:23:10,520 --> 00:23:14,680
before the water is redistributed
among the various gardens.
215
00:23:56,720 --> 00:23:59,280
People here don't share the land.
216
00:23:59,440 --> 00:24:01,400
They share water.
217
00:24:01,560 --> 00:24:05,160
A law imagined
by these men of the desert.
218
00:24:45,760 --> 00:24:49,640
Life here is a challenge
for both man and beast.
219
00:24:49,800 --> 00:24:53,120
Both have adapted to the environment.
220
00:24:53,280 --> 00:24:56,400
Many species wait for nightfall
to venture out,
221
00:24:56,560 --> 00:25:00,160
to avoid the heat
or to go unseen by predators.
222
00:25:01,160 --> 00:25:05,840
Those without a choice must have
extraordinary gifts to survive.
223
00:25:12,680 --> 00:25:16,840
After Ghardaia, we head
into the Great Sand Sea,
224
00:25:17,000 --> 00:25:21,120
a region of sand dunes
a third the size of France.
225
00:25:22,880 --> 00:25:27,000
The Grand Erg moves constantly
as the wind moves the sand.
226
00:25:28,000 --> 00:25:31,960
It's a hard barrier to cross
for the men of the desert.
227
00:25:32,120 --> 00:25:37,200
Caravans have to make their way
from one rare water-hole to the next.
228
00:25:39,480 --> 00:25:44,680
After Ghardaia, it's vital that
we reach El Menia and Timimoun.
229
00:25:51,600 --> 00:25:55,760
We know we're approaching El Menia
when we see its fortress,
230
00:25:55,920 --> 00:25:57,840
known as a 'ksar'.
231
00:25:58,000 --> 00:26:03,280
El Menia... an oasis
with 100,000 palm trees.
232
00:26:05,240 --> 00:26:07,360
The ksar is typically Berber.
233
00:26:07,520 --> 00:26:10,600
It protected the population
from raiders.
234
00:26:19,040 --> 00:26:23,800
The agriculture is specifically
Saharan, on three levels.
235
00:26:23,960 --> 00:26:26,840
Cereals and vegetables
grow on the ground.
236
00:26:27,000 --> 00:26:30,720
Above are fruit trees,
particularly orange trees,
237
00:26:30,880 --> 00:26:34,760
and these are shaded from the sun
by date palms.
238
00:26:52,920 --> 00:26:56,120
El Menia is a beautiful oasis.
239
00:26:56,280 --> 00:27:00,640
But its most incredible secret
is on the edge of town...
240
00:27:00,800 --> 00:27:02,880
A lake!
241
00:27:17,560 --> 00:27:19,120
In the midst of the desert,
242
00:27:19,280 --> 00:27:23,120
we find ourselves facing
a vast expanse of water.
243
00:27:27,640 --> 00:27:29,560
The water is not drinkable.
244
00:27:29,720 --> 00:27:32,200
It's too salty even for bathing.
245
00:27:35,080 --> 00:27:38,600
But it attracts birds
migrating from Europe to Africa.
246
00:27:46,920 --> 00:27:48,760
Since time immemorial,
247
00:27:48,920 --> 00:27:52,600
pink flamingos and storks
have stopped off in this humid zone
248
00:27:52,760 --> 00:27:54,760
in the middle of the desert.
249
00:27:56,160 --> 00:27:58,880
Somehow, they know where it is.
250
00:27:59,040 --> 00:28:01,840
Their very lives depend on it.
251
00:28:14,120 --> 00:28:17,880
Further south, we come to a ksar
in the Draa valley.
252
00:28:21,320 --> 00:28:23,720
MAN SINGS
253
00:28:23,880 --> 00:28:27,160
There was, no doubt,
a palm grove here at one time.
254
00:28:27,960 --> 00:28:32,160
The walls are of stone and
have stood up to the desert winds.
255
00:28:48,800 --> 00:28:51,920
This ksar is a mystery.
256
00:28:52,080 --> 00:28:56,720
It's said to be the last
of the Jewish caravanserais.
257
00:29:16,040 --> 00:29:18,480
It was over 1000 years ago
258
00:29:18,640 --> 00:29:21,880
when Jewish nomads last travelled
through the desert.
259
00:29:22,040 --> 00:29:27,280
Since then, the ksar has gradually
fallen into oblivion.
260
00:30:05,240 --> 00:30:08,360
WOMAN SINGS
261
00:31:19,560 --> 00:31:24,600
Everything is here, in this desert,
buried in the sand.
262
00:31:25,920 --> 00:31:29,080
On the road to Timimoun,
in the middle of nowhere,
263
00:31:29,240 --> 00:31:32,440
we're sure the desert is sterile.
264
00:31:33,320 --> 00:31:38,200
But when you know where to look,
you can even find truffles!
265
00:31:38,840 --> 00:31:44,240
These desert mushrooms are a gift
provided by the meagre autumn rains.
266
00:32:22,240 --> 00:32:27,880
Timimoun is an oasis of red clay,
owing to the iron oxide in the soil.
267
00:32:29,480 --> 00:32:33,440
The architecture here
inspired Timbuktu and Djenne,
268
00:32:33,600 --> 00:32:35,720
across the border in Mali.
269
00:32:36,640 --> 00:32:41,080
Timimoun has recently begun
to attract Algerian tourists.
270
00:32:41,240 --> 00:32:46,000
The Algiers middle classes
even build holiday homes here.
271
00:32:46,160 --> 00:32:51,680
We enter by the Sudan Gate -
black Africa is not far away.
272
00:33:01,440 --> 00:33:06,600
Timimoun is at a crossroads
and is therefore a market town.
273
00:33:06,760 --> 00:33:11,000
It's said that the Sahara's
finest draperies were woven here.
274
00:33:11,160 --> 00:33:16,000
But with globalisation, the material
tends to come from China.
275
00:33:18,320 --> 00:33:22,840
Like the sand in the Grand Erg,
time erases history.
276
00:33:31,520 --> 00:33:34,800
After Timimoun,
the road crosses a 'reg',
277
00:33:34,960 --> 00:33:37,440
a desert pavement of rock fragments.
278
00:33:37,600 --> 00:33:43,120
Geologists' trucks have left
their mark here, in pursuit of oil.
279
00:33:44,840 --> 00:33:47,520
But these tracks
lead to nowhere in particular.
280
00:33:47,680 --> 00:33:52,280
Instead, we take the road
to Tamanrasset, or Tam,
281
00:33:52,440 --> 00:33:54,840
Algeria's southernmost town.
282
00:34:02,440 --> 00:34:05,160
Tam begins with a mirage...
283
00:34:05,320 --> 00:34:09,000
a mirage of football
on artificial grass.
284
00:34:22,600 --> 00:34:25,000
The town now has a university
285
00:34:25,160 --> 00:34:28,480
with 2000 students
from throughout the region.
286
00:34:30,080 --> 00:34:32,560
The town is betting on the future.
287
00:34:40,320 --> 00:34:42,120
Tamanrasset is changing,
288
00:34:42,280 --> 00:34:45,440
but it will always be
at a high altitude,
289
00:34:45,600 --> 00:34:48,800
with cold winters
and burning summers.
290
00:34:50,240 --> 00:34:52,880
It is a crossroads town
for the Tuaregs.
291
00:34:53,040 --> 00:34:57,360
It takes several days for them
to reach it from any direction.
292
00:34:57,520 --> 00:35:01,040
Kel Ajjer Tuaregs come
from Tassili n'Ajjer,
293
00:35:01,200 --> 00:35:06,200
Kel Attram from Gao,
and Kel Air from Agadez and Timia.
294
00:35:06,360 --> 00:35:09,680
Convoys enter and leave constantly.
295
00:35:12,520 --> 00:35:15,040
People come to Tam for supplies.
296
00:35:15,200 --> 00:35:17,120
They speak Tamasheq.
297
00:35:17,280 --> 00:35:20,160
They listen to the news,
and gossip.
298
00:35:30,360 --> 00:35:34,720
We leave Tamanrasset bound
for the Hoggar and Tassili n'Ajjer,
299
00:35:34,880 --> 00:35:37,800
looking for the lost city of Sefar.
300
00:35:45,600 --> 00:35:49,080
The regional Tuaregs
are the Kel Ahaggar,
301
00:35:49,240 --> 00:35:52,120
which means
'the people of the Hoggar'.
302
00:35:53,840 --> 00:35:56,440
Many families
have abandoned nomadism
303
00:35:56,600 --> 00:35:59,880
and settled on the outskirts
of Tamanrasset.
304
00:36:01,720 --> 00:36:04,520
The Tuaregs are nomadic
animal-farmers,
305
00:36:04,680 --> 00:36:06,560
and sometimes merchants.
306
00:36:06,720 --> 00:36:09,200
They own nothing, or very little.
307
00:36:09,760 --> 00:36:13,280
Some land, goats, dromedaries...
308
00:36:14,680 --> 00:36:16,840
It's a matriarchal society.
309
00:36:17,000 --> 00:36:20,560
The women own the tents
and the few pieces of furniture.
310
00:36:21,480 --> 00:36:26,960
Every bit of wood is carefully saved
to use in cooking on the desert sand.
311
00:36:33,280 --> 00:36:35,360
The Hoggar begins here.
312
00:36:35,520 --> 00:36:39,080
A huge plateau
over 2000 metres high,
313
00:36:39,080 --> 00:36:41,360
eroded and studded with craters.
314
00:36:43,760 --> 00:36:45,960
The whole history of the earth
is here.
315
00:36:46,120 --> 00:36:48,720
Hundreds of volcanoes, like Atakor,
316
00:36:48,880 --> 00:36:52,560
have raised 4 billion-year-old
granite to the surface.
317
00:36:58,440 --> 00:37:03,600
The bedrock has been pulverised
into cliffs, outcrops and crags.
318
00:37:06,880 --> 00:37:08,480
There isn't a sound.
319
00:37:08,640 --> 00:37:12,200
No noise comes to disturb this place.
320
00:37:21,760 --> 00:37:24,880
From here,
the eye turns towards Assekrem,
321
00:37:25,040 --> 00:37:28,320
the legendary plateau that was home
to a French hermit,
322
00:37:28,480 --> 00:37:31,400
the Blessed Father
Charles de Foucauld.
323
00:37:38,440 --> 00:37:42,000
He was a soldier, an explorer
and then a priest
324
00:37:42,160 --> 00:37:45,960
who defended secularism, women,
the role of Islam,
325
00:37:46,120 --> 00:37:50,240
universal education
and the abolition of slavery.
326
00:37:52,680 --> 00:37:54,360
He lived with the Berbers
327
00:37:54,520 --> 00:37:57,600
and devoted most of his work
to Tuareg culture,
328
00:37:57,760 --> 00:38:00,760
compiling the first Tamasheq
dictionary.
329
00:38:02,080 --> 00:38:04,760
Charles Eugene de Foucauld
de Pontbriand
330
00:38:04,920 --> 00:38:09,040
was martyred in these mountains
in 1916.
331
00:38:12,120 --> 00:38:17,160
Up until the end, he was fascinated
by what he saw from his hermitage.
332
00:38:18,320 --> 00:38:22,960
The Sahara gave him
a glimpse of Creation.
333
00:38:36,840 --> 00:38:40,560
Crossing this desert
is a strange experience.
334
00:38:40,720 --> 00:38:44,000
You walk by yourself,
but you're not alone.
335
00:38:45,080 --> 00:38:47,720
Every step is a dialogue.
336
00:38:49,080 --> 00:38:52,080
You experience
the surprising nature of the sand,
337
00:38:52,240 --> 00:38:53,840
the texture of the rocks,
338
00:38:54,000 --> 00:38:55,640
you follow the curving trail,
339
00:38:55,800 --> 00:39:00,480
become part of the wadis,
the shadows of the acacia trees...
340
00:39:00,640 --> 00:39:03,280
The desert is a secret world
341
00:39:03,440 --> 00:39:06,960
which speaks only to those
who pass through it.
342
00:39:09,400 --> 00:39:11,760
The tagelmust is the only defence
343
00:39:11,920 --> 00:39:15,880
against the biting desert winds
and sun.
344
00:39:16,040 --> 00:39:19,360
Draping this turban-cum-veil
is an art.
345
00:39:19,520 --> 00:39:21,480
The colour is a code.
346
00:39:21,640 --> 00:39:24,240
White is a sign of respect
347
00:39:24,400 --> 00:39:28,000
respect for those
who offer their hospitality.
348
00:39:31,920 --> 00:39:34,880
The custom is
to drink three green teas
349
00:39:35,040 --> 00:39:37,680
and talk over the latest news
from your route.
350
00:39:39,600 --> 00:39:42,800
The first tea will be
as bitter as death,
351
00:39:42,960 --> 00:39:45,720
the second, mild like life,
352
00:39:45,880 --> 00:39:49,560
and the third, as sweet as love.
353
00:39:57,720 --> 00:40:00,720
These are the certitudes
for the 'free men'
354
00:40:00,880 --> 00:40:03,680
who place one foot before the other.
355
00:40:14,200 --> 00:40:17,240
Our own steps lead us
to the Tassili n'Ajjer,
356
00:40:17,400 --> 00:40:20,760
a sandstone plateau
over 1000 metres high,
357
00:40:20,920 --> 00:40:23,840
eroded and sculpted over time.
358
00:40:24,000 --> 00:40:28,320
For millions of years,
the ground was furrowed by water.
359
00:40:28,480 --> 00:40:32,640
Now there is desert, the wind
wears down and polishes the rock.
360
00:40:37,840 --> 00:40:42,000
Daytime heat and nocturnal cold
split the stone.
361
00:40:43,560 --> 00:40:48,800
Alone in this vast expanse,
we see the earth transform.
362
00:41:14,240 --> 00:41:16,480
We drink from pools in the wadis,
363
00:41:16,640 --> 00:41:20,600
being careful not to drink
at the same time as the goats.
364
00:41:20,760 --> 00:41:23,200
We are so far from Algiers,
365
00:41:23,360 --> 00:41:26,840
in a land that seems
as big as a continent.
366
00:41:28,840 --> 00:41:31,080
We also see mouflons -
367
00:41:31,240 --> 00:41:34,360
wild sheep better adapted
to the terrain than goats.
368
00:41:34,520 --> 00:41:38,560
They seek water and plants
to graze on at dawn and dusk.
369
00:41:38,720 --> 00:41:42,280
They're at greatest risk from man
when close to the gueltas,
370
00:41:42,440 --> 00:41:45,360
the natural pools in the rock.
371
00:41:45,520 --> 00:41:50,680
The species is endangered,
and these regions provide a refuge.
372
00:41:53,880 --> 00:41:57,480
The only humans you encounter
are dead...
373
00:41:57,640 --> 00:42:01,080
in tombs that date back
to Neolithic times.
374
00:42:01,240 --> 00:42:05,080
The oldest go back
around 6000 years.
375
00:42:12,160 --> 00:42:14,280
Only men were buried here,
376
00:42:14,440 --> 00:42:18,120
lying on their side,
their heads towards the east.
377
00:42:25,200 --> 00:42:29,760
We enter the biggest open-air museum
of the Neolithic age.
378
00:42:31,360 --> 00:42:34,160
You have to come here to believe it.
379
00:42:34,320 --> 00:42:38,680
Sefar is the biggest
cave-dwelling site in the world.
380
00:42:40,560 --> 00:42:43,400
A city of stone.
381
00:42:44,520 --> 00:42:48,120
The wind has created avenues,
squares and streets...
382
00:42:51,440 --> 00:42:56,360
Sefar has been on
the World Heritage list since 1982.
383
00:42:58,600 --> 00:43:01,880
Not for the extraordinary creation
of the winds,
384
00:43:02,040 --> 00:43:04,920
but for what it conceals.
385
00:43:09,280 --> 00:43:12,360
15,000 paintings and engravings
386
00:43:12,520 --> 00:43:15,200
decorate the walls
of this natural city.
387
00:43:15,360 --> 00:43:18,920
It is one of the biggest collections
of prehistoric cave-art
388
00:43:19,080 --> 00:43:20,440
in the world.
389
00:43:24,240 --> 00:43:30,120
You discover visual accounts of wars,
conquests and lost civilisations.
390
00:43:32,800 --> 00:43:36,440
And you find that this desert
was not always so dry.
391
00:43:38,240 --> 00:43:40,440
It was once a savanna,
392
00:43:40,600 --> 00:43:44,280
a land of giraffes,
buffalo and rhinoceri.
393
00:43:47,440 --> 00:43:52,560
15,000 art works recounting
6000 years of climate change,
394
00:43:52,720 --> 00:43:56,480
animal migration,
and the evolution of human life
395
00:43:56,640 --> 00:43:58,600
in the remote Sahara,
396
00:43:58,760 --> 00:44:01,960
like a great book of the desert.
397
00:44:06,040 --> 00:44:09,160
A tale with its share of mystery,
398
00:44:09,320 --> 00:44:13,200
starting with these strange beings
that appear in certain drawings,
399
00:44:13,360 --> 00:44:17,200
with a form neither animal
nor quite human.
400
00:44:41,080 --> 00:44:44,200
Few travellers venture beyond Sefar.
401
00:44:45,360 --> 00:44:48,640
Hardly anyone comes this far.
402
00:44:52,800 --> 00:44:57,240
In the far south of Algeria,
we glimpse the red desert.
403
00:44:58,840 --> 00:45:03,240
We behold the infinite beauty
of this world,
404
00:45:03,400 --> 00:45:05,640
never to be forgotten.
405
00:45:25,360 --> 00:45:29,160
And we remember all the people
who have welcomed us.
406
00:45:38,120 --> 00:45:41,840
We take with us a memory
of all their faces,
407
00:45:43,120 --> 00:45:45,600
at the end of our journey
408
00:45:45,760 --> 00:45:48,920
through Algeria from above.
409
00:48:54,840 --> 00:48:56,800
Captions (c) SBS Australia 2019
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