I-n-Azaoua was a crude, French colonial-era redoubt built in February 1899[1] alongside an established well, three kilometres south of the current border line between Algeria and Niger.

I-n-Azaoua
Important old sign 95km south of Tamanrasset on the main southbound In Guezzam route, indicating the fork heading ESE for I-n Azaoua well.
Important old sign 95km south of Tamanrasset on the main southbound In Guezzam route, indicating the fork heading ESE for I-n Azaoua well.
I-n-Azaoua is located in Niger
I-n-Azaoua
I-n-Azaoua
Location in Niger
Coordinates: 20°48′30″N 7°27′30″E / 20.80833°N 7.45833°E / 20.80833; 7.45833
Country Niger
RegionAgadez Region
DepartmentArlit Department
Elevation
1,670 ft (510 m)
Time zoneUTC+1 (WAT)

History edit

During the French colonisation of north and west Africa, the Foureau-Lamy Mission of 1898-1900 constructed a small redoubt 800 metres from the well.[2] The 1972 Institut géographique national NG-32-II map indicates water at a depth of 6 metres. Once the easier trans-Sahara crossing via In Guezzam was established in the 1960s,[3] this remote 720-km track between Tamanrasset and Iferouane in Niger's northern Aïr Mountains became even less frequently used. As tourism grew in the 1970s, the remote Algerian part of the route to I-n Azaoua was closed by Algerian authorities and an important sign was erected 95 km south of Tamanrasset on the main In Guezzam route at the fork leading ESE for I-n Azaoua. Until that time, some travellers had mistakenly taken the I-n Azaoua route and perished.

References edit

  1. ^ "Forts et Bordjs du Sahara Algerien".
  2. ^ "Forts et Bordjs du Sahara Algerien".
  3. ^ "Trans Sahara Routes". 7 September 2013.

External links edit