The end of the world exists and is located on the peaks of the Hoggar massif in Algeria.
The volcanic plateau of Assekrem (in the Tamasheq language, “end of the world”) rises 2,800 metres, 80 km from Tamanrasset, surrounded by a lunar landscape of metallic colours. It is an unusual Sahara, made up of eroded mountains, lava flows and bizarrely shaped basalt cliffs, works of art by nature and the work of the weather.
A desolate and magical land, which was chosen by Charles de Foucauld as his hermitage in 1911.
The mysticism in this corner of the world is undeniable. Watching the sunset that envelops the Assekrem, illuminates the Atakor and the Tahat peak, it is easy to understand why Foucauld, this extremely charismatic figure, first an officer in the French army, then a geographer, explorer, linguist, priest and meteorologist, chose these places to build his hermitage and retire to a life of prayer, meditation and penance.
An hour’s walk takes you to the hermitage, still inhabited by a few monks who celebrate mass every morning, heirs to the memory of Foucauld. It is a truly unique experience to walk through the places where the priest lived the last years of his life, until his tragic death as a martyr at the hands of the Tuareg rebels.
The name Hoggar is derived from the name of the noble Touareg (Kel Ahaggar), the original inhabitants of the region, who, with their beautiful taguelmoust (turban), are the undisputed lords of this corner of the Sahara.
This desolate mountainous region, with its silvery peaks, its gueltas and precious springs hidden in the valley, is par excellence the land of the “blue men”, the Touareg, a nomadic population of Berber origin who fled to the massif in successive waves to escape tribal wars and foreign domination.
Today Tamanrasset, once a small nomadic village, is the crossroads of trade in the region and the capital of the Hoggar, a city in its own right, with an airport, a museum and the interesting Marché Africain. But the Touareg villages in the surrounding area still retain the characteristics of nomadic encampments, where the Tamasheq culture is extremely alive and well and the cult of the descendants of the beautiful princess Tin Hinan is still very much respected.