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Like a medieval labyrinth, the caravan town of Fachi, Niger was built with high wall of salty mud to protect it from raids. Inside the turreted fortress are jars made to store foodstuffs in times of siege, and wells to provide water. Once an important stop on the slave trading routes to Libya, it is now a sleepy town with a barely functioning school & clinic, and no government other than the village chief, who’s house is attached to the ancient fortress’ wall on the right side. On the far left of the photo is “suburban Fachi”. These newer & larger houses were built after the establishment of French rule, which made the cramped life inside the walled city less desirable.

Filename
STNMTZ_19971201_10A_2.TIF
Copyright
©2006 George Steinmetz
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7168x4798 / 98.5MB
www.georgesteinmetz.com
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Like a medieval labyrinth, the caravan town of Fachi, Niger was built with high wall of salty mud to protect it from raids. Inside the turreted fortress are jars made to store foodstuffs in times of siege, and wells to provide water. Once an important stop on the slave trading routes to Libya, it is now a sleepy town with a barely functioning school & clinic, and no government other than the village chief, who’s house is attached to the ancient fortress’ wall on the right side. On the far left of the photo is “suburban Fachi”. These newer & larger houses were built after the establishment of French rule, which made the cramped life inside the walled city less desirable.

All images ©George Steinmetz. Please contact us for usage.