Located 1,230 km southwest of the capital Algiers, Timimoun is known as the “Red Oasis” of Algeria, characterized by its houses built from red mud.
Timimoun covers an area of approximately 9,936 km2. This is one of the top tourist attractions in Algeria. This “Red Oasis” is also nicknamed “La Rouge” (red in French). The people of Algeria believe that the color red represents blood and the desert.
Life in the Sahara oasis of Algeria has thrived for centuries. The town is also home to some of the most prominent architecture in North Africa.
Further north, in the M’Zab Valley, lies a series of 5 “ksour” (fortified villages) featuring unique pastel-colored houses. These fortresses are recognized by UNESCO for their “extremely original architecture” and the desire to preserve “a lifestyle and building techniques from the 21st century.”
The southern region of Algeria is the ancestral home of the Tuareg people, nomadic traders who rely on livestock and dried foods like dates, according to National Geographic.
Visitors can recognize the Tuareg people by their tagelmust – a headscarf symbolizing their ethnic identity. Traveling with a tagelmust is the only safe way for tourists to explore Tassili N’Ajjer (a sandstone plateau in the heart of the Sahara Desert).
Tassili N’Ajjer is home to approximately 15,000 images and sculptures depicting the presence of people who once lived in the region. The oldest images are believed to date back 10,000 years. These illustrations reveal that this was once a lush savanna where hunter-gatherers shared food with elephants, lions, and giraffes. As people transitioned to agriculture, they painted livestock. Later, when the Sahara dried up, images of camels appeared, including depictions of trade caravans crossing the Sahara and the lives of the Tuareg riding camels, according to National Geographic.
According to a local tour guide, residents living near the Sahara grow up and mature with the sand, able to recognize even the slightest changes in the terrain.
“Some people are so familiar with the sand that when they leave their hometown for the city, they long for the allure of the desert, as if someone is urging them to return,” the guide said.
