Travel Guide Ej-Jill Salt Works

The salt efflorescences of the Ej-Jill sebkha punctuate this corner of the desert between the Western Sahara and the town of F'Dérik with white. Probably exploited from the tenth or eleventh century, the site of Ej-Jill held a place of choice in the trans-Saharan caravan trade. Like Bilma, in present-day Niger, or Teghazza (supplanted by Taoudenni in 1585), in northern Mali, Ej-Jill owed its fame to salt. The sebkha was, in fact, an important stage between the cities of North Africa, such as Marrakech and Sijilmassa, and the sub-Saharan urban centers, such as Koumbi Saleh (capital of the empire of Ghana) and Niani, in medieval times. The extracted salt bars were transported south on camels. Situated at the crossroads of several important trade routes, Ouadane benefited from this salt industry, over which it had, for the most part, control. Gold and ivory from western Sudan and salt from Ej-Jill, used in particular for food preservation, passed through the city. The decline of the Mali Empire and the concomitant advent of the Songhai Empire in the 15th century caused the caravan routes to shift eastward, relegating Ej-Jill and Ouadane to the background. The quantities of salt harvested then fell to a low point. The activity recovered in the 19th century, reaching its peak between 1875 and 1891 (1,200 tons produced per year). Nowadays, salt producers still carry out this task by hand.