SALINE D'EJ JILL

The saline efflorescences of the Ej Jill sebkha punctuate in white this corner of desert wedged between the Western Sahara and the town of F'Dérik. Probably exploited from the ^10th or ^11th century onwards, the Ej Jill site played a key role in the trans-Saharan caravan trade. Like Bilma, in present-day Niger, or Teghazza (supplanted by Taoudenni in 1585), Ej Jill owed its fame to salt. In medieval times, the sebkha was an important link between North African cities such as Marrakech and Sijilmassa, and sub-Saharan urban centers such as Koumbi Saleh (capital of the Ghana Empire) and Niani. The extracted salt bars were transported south by camel. Situated at the crossroads of several major trade routes, Ouadane benefited from the salt industry, over which it had a stranglehold. Gold and ivory from western Sudan and salt from Ej Jill, used in particular for food preservation, passed through Ouadane. The decline of the Mali Empire and the concomitant advent of the Songhai Empire in the ^15th century shifted the caravan routes further east, relegating Ej Jill and Ouadane to the background. The quantities of salt harvested declined sharply. Activity picked up again in the ^19th century, reaching its zenith between 1875 and 1891 (1,200 tons produced per year). Today, salt-makers still carry out their traditional tasks under the scorching sun.