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Festival au Desert 2009, Essakane, Mali

The Nomadic Touareg clans have held desert gatherings for centuries to listen to each other’s music, feast, race camels and more. The Festival au Desert manifests what was envisioned in the 1996 “Flame of Peace” monument in Timbuktu built to memorialise a truce declared in 1996 when 3,000 guns were publicly burned to signify the beginning of reconciliation between the nomadic and sedentary communities of the southern Sahara.

Festival au Desert welcomes audiences from around the world to join them at Essakane on the outskirts Timbuktu, Mali, and deep in the magnificent sand dunes of the Sahara Desert. Over 35 musical groups perform for three days and nights in one of the greatest cultural events on the planet.

Salif Keita

Salif Keita

12 Photos

Habib Koïté

Habib Koïté

12 Photos

Bassekou Kouyaté and Ami Sacko

Bassekou Kouyaté and Ami Sacko

12 Photos

Vieux Farka Touré

Vieux Farka Touré

12 Photos

Afel Bocoum

Afel Bocoum

12 Photos

Khaira Arby

Khaira Arby

12 Photos

Baba Djiré

Baba Djiré

12 Photos

Samba Touré

Samba Touré

12 Photos

Tartit

Tartit

12 Photos

Takoba

Takoba

10 Photos

Horguere

Horguere

12 Photos

Bocar Madjo

Bocar Madjo

10 Photos

Mario Lucio

Mario Lucio

10 Photos


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