Tamanrasset:
Tamanrasset, or “Tam” as the men of the North call it, is the capital of Hoggar, the mountain range of the central Sahara classified as World Heritage by UNESCO. Built at 1,400 meters above sea level, the city benefits from a relatively temperate climate.
Its red and original houses as well as its magnificent panorama make of this city a particularly endearing place. The city market is also very attractive with its shops and sellers at the auction.
The father of Foucauld – who settled in Tamanrasset in 1905 – left an indelible trace with his Bordj (small fort) built in 1915. It consists of a chapel, a kitchen and a room reserved for the guests of passage, distributed around a court where took refuge, in case of danger, the inhabitants of what was then the hamlet of Tamanrasset. The Bordj contains today many craft items (jewelry, clothes, weapons and locksmith).
The Hoggar region is full of Neolithic remains that attract lust and have been looted in the past. That’s why the site is secure today.
Assekem:
About 80 kilometers north-east of Tamanrasset, the Assekem plateau dominates the Atakor massif. It offers a fabulous panorama of the Hoggar with its rocky massifs and peaks reaching 3000 meters above sea level.
At the highest point of the Assekem, at 2,725 meters above sea level, is the hermitage of the father of Foucauld. The priest had built a small house where he planned to retire during the summer months, in a setting conducive to meditation and meetings with the Tuareg. Even if it has only been a few months and if the hermitage has been restored several times, the presence of the priest is still very strong: every morning, at dawn, a mass is celebrated in the little chapel and his Spartan room seems to have been left that morning.
