A Tuareg tribesman leads his camels through the dunes of the Sahara. The Tuareg have historically roamed the desert from southern Algeria and Libya to eastern Mali. Tuareg caravans once dominated trade routes; today, many of those who have not settled in cities and towns make their livings herding livestock.
A Tuareg man in northern Mali wears a traditional veil. Dyed with pigment that stains the skin, indigo veils and robes give Tuareg men a distinctive appearance and have earned them the nickname “Blue Men of the Sahara.”
Once true nomads, many of Tanzania’s Masaai have begun the transition to a more settled life. Married Masaai women gather wood, make camp, milk cows, and tend babies, while the men lead cattle on the never ending search for grass and water
Photograph by Taylor S. Kennedy, National Geographic
Bedouin men sing and play instruments around a campfire in Wadi Rum, a stark span of desert in southwestern Jordan. Many Arabs see their origins in Bedouin culture, which centers on movement and still provides a way of life for pockets of people throughout the Middle East.