Niger hosts major Sahara camel race
Twenty-five camels on the starting line, two laps of five kilometers and a winner aged only 10 years old: the Ingall camel race, in the north of Niger is once again the flagship event of the "Salt Cure" festival, a great celebration of Saharan pastoralism trapped in the region.
Once a year, deep in the Sahara, nomads gather to celebrate life, love and an almost forgotten way of life. The men on camels emerge like ghost riders through thick veils of Saharan dust, sleeves and pant legs flapping as they stampede toward the festival grounds
The race is considered one of the backbone cultures of most of these camel breeders not only in Niger but in the entire Sahara desert.
This rich culture has been passed down from generation to generation as they consider it honorable given the fact that competitors are after glory but not the reward.
Hundreds of camel owners showed up to compete through the five-kilometers track in the desert.
While most of these animals were drawn from all over the country and even from nearby Algeria, special and skillful riders were going to be successful in this competition.
A ten-year-old boy by the name Tchin Tabaraden won the much-coveted race after defeating 24 riders in the 5 kilometers race.
