A camel train, caravan, or camel string is a series of camels carrying passengers and goods on a regular or semi-regular service between points. Despite rarely travelling faster than human walking speed, for centuries camels' ability to withstand harsh conditions made them ideal for communication and trade in the desert areas of North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. Camel trains were also used sparingly elsewhere around the globe. Since the early 20th century they have been largely replaced by motorized vehicles or air traffic.
A contemporary camel caravan for salt transportation in Lake Karum in Afar Region, Ethiopia
"Caravan Approaching a City in the Vast Desert of Sahara", from: Stanley and the White Heroes in Africa, by H. B. Scammel, 1890
Camel train transporting a house, Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, ca. 1928
Camels with a howdah, by Émile and Adolphe Rouargue, 1855
The Tuareg people are a large Berber ethnic group that principally inhabit the Sahara in a vast area stretching from far southwestern Libya to southern Algeria, Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso. Traditionally nomadic pastoralists, small groups of Tuareg are also found in northern Nigeria.
A Tuareg in Algiers, Algeria.
An artist's representation of Tin Hinan, an ancient queen of the Hoggar
Tuareg chief Moussa Ag Amastan arriving in Paris, 1910
A Tuareg man in Mali with his slave, 1974
