any adventure into the sahara will always take this road. ali sells water coffee and coke but trading has been slow today. but on top of that he's heard worrying news on the radio unlikely though it sounds does snow in neighboring egypt. which could threaten that as its main event a festival that attracts thousands of tourists. the mild desert winter is when business usually peaks and when the sahara really comes to life.

geneseo a small wedge shaped slice in the north of perhaps the most famous desert on earth this small country is known as the sahara games. for fifty years the annual desert festival has taken place here it's an event that draws people from all surrounding countries. these people's lives are deeply intertwined with the death of. the many preparations for the festival began six months ago they've gone deep into the desert every day on an exhaustive training shuttle the main event is camel racing any prize in a sprint race is a great honor but winning to forty two kilometer marathon is considered especially prestigious the young boys in the small town of doulas dream of such a victory seemingly endless sand dunes begin just beyond the town's borders. by.

every other man in the region image hopes to win two years ago he and his camel came first in a sprint for us. i'm confident about this part of the race because my camel is quite familiar with the area but i do have some doubts about the long distance marathon i haven't entered it before with this camel. because the festival only takes place once a year image needs to make a living for himself and his camel so he dons make up and colorful national costume to pose as an exotic sultan for tourists which is particularly popular with some women travellers. as camel though is less than impressed these a particular race are only interested in entering competitions he frequently and loudly expresses his disapproval. omas life is centered on his camels in the desert. i know this in my life this is in my.

in the in my heart. all done. and now my time in this not working interest no this is life then as everything for me in life because this government love me for one time this government like me. a man has always shared a special relationship with his camels there was a time when he trained these beautiful creatures to appear in a hollywood movie that was filmed in the sahara. then. i am more with. this i give it then i think the government and the prison that i want to add in last year's marathon came first but no one can tell how the race will end this winter. many people are surprised to learn that it rains in the heart the stereotypical

image of the desert is one of endless sand but there's more to the desert than that . an untrained eye could easily miss what's hiding in the rocks. like. these people's ancestors seeking shelter from enemies began to live in caves. there's no one to hide from now but cave dwelling still widely used their warm in winter and cool in summer and if you need more space you can always hollow out another room. the big advantage though is that dwellings like this search. this family used to have only one cave a few years ago they occupied another. they have gas and electricity

modern furniture and bathrooms. the water supply there can only be used for domestic purposes they get their drinking water the same way their ancestors did when it rains water collects in special recipe. and in winter that's quite a lot of rain. but of summer is better for us than winter because in the winter it's hard looking after the enemy it is to sleep or eat. the next cave is for animals to live in xena was in charge of the whole house hold. she looks after her elderly mother in law and the daughter in law is not well. the desert live is more difficult for women but the man don't have it easy either

we all have to do the agricultural jobs and it's really hard. was that it was a scene as elder daughter helps with everything they've been. through. people are native to north africa they have witnessed the rise and fall of several civilizations and still manage to preserve their language and traditions perhaps because the places they've always inhabited were hard to reach. the modern road to these caves was only built fifteen years ago now tourists come regularly and are always welcome. and your. days look the same because their problems and. we have to work all the time.

xena has never visited the festival she has no time for celebrations although it's not much more than a hundred kilometers along a good road from here. i will not go into the desert but the sahara may well be coming to xena. constantly expanding along the southern border as it's growing at almost fifty kilometers per year xena's husband is among those who are trying to contain the advancing sand to hold back the junes at least a little he builds fences from palm leaves despite these efforts the desert is slowly but surely gaining ground. every winter opens a unique desert camp and without good reason. it's open from october until march in the very heart of the. in the height of summer the region is scorching

with temperatures reaching fifty degrees celsius and. eighty degrees. and everything in this camp took a lot of if it. is easy out here. existing here is very tough the. water is brought from his twenty three kilometers away tent set up so that the europeans will be comfortable but the know how he's borrowed from bedouins the nomads of the desert. have their observer carpets in every tent be better bare. feet we put them there in case a scope ian or some insect tries to get inside. the rugs tend to stop them because they don't like crawling over the rough surface of the carpet.

generators or electricity in the camp the light comes exclusively from candles the sun moon and stars in every tents there's a toilet that uses wood shavings instead of water. flattening the tires to make them wider. that will enable us to get through. if we didn't do that we wouldn't be able to. for many years to used to take part in rallies but then the desert took from him the most precious part of his life his ten year old son. the boy always went with him on extreme races but in what would be his last lost control of the car and the vehicle rolled upside down killing the young passenger. hasn't entered a single race since he found a place in the desert where the sand is

a glorious pink sunsets and sunrises are exceptional and that's where he created this unique camp in memory of his child. this group of austrian adventurers has been struggling to get out of a sand trap. stuck fast in the sand close to riyadh's camp. after successfully bringing the tourists across the whole of eastern europe they thought it would be a good idea to take it to the sahara too. but the desert isn't known for its forgiving nature. only the bedouins are able to navigate this constantly changing landscape for generations they've grown up learning the many secrets of survival most of passed from generation to generation but others can only be learned by trial and error.

of course there's no mobile connection in the desert for hundreds of kilometers but after climbing this mountain and rounding this rock travelers find an unusual kind of telephone booth where they can call home perhaps for the latest news about the festival. omas house is full of guests there from algeria and about friends and rivals. this is a friend from one union his name. this is the wife. and this is the husband the mud and you know and this is coming is number one for next year for him really who are some of the mohican. we've lived in the desert since childhood in the village of. the most of the people

there breed camels. has been working with him since he was a child and for who you know you could say bedouin life in the desert and camels are in his blood. and. this is the only form of this number one for people of friends. and this isn't one. this is the new government and. this is one of us and god for this he says this is the new. good thing is it will come and this is going to go on my comment is the one for follow. this throughout this video out of that is i don't know who is. in the one on one with. the festival begins tomorrow there will be spring tracing on the first day and then the day of the marathon the major competition

that everyone wants to win. wealthy british style going. on right. the. market why not. come to. find out what's really happening to the global economy with mike stronger for a no holds barred look at the global financial headlines. kaiser reports.

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morning mugs through the streets of do is open to festival. limited poses for tourists to take photographs. or. didn't go to the square you might think that he's

on concerned about all the festival excitement his day begins as it. always death with morning coffee instead of newspapers or t.v. news always at the same time and in the same café. it's a man's traditional ritual they'll discuss the future horses and camels today though brings a new topic for conversation the eagerly anticipated sprint races take place after lunch. the desert takes many forms often in close proximity to each other this one is among the most desolate and unforgiving. like when a combination of salt and sand allows any living creature. in this valley and they're easily mistaken for reality.

that it was practically raised. since childhood a full forty yes. climbing a tree to find a phone signal is perfectly normal to. how much life revolves around these palm trees he climbs them to pick the fruit or collect palm juice. a rare event as it's quite literally the last thing a palm tree will ever give. it's . very quickly.

of the many palm trees in the. mail muhammad and his colleagues must climb to the top of every single. females with a special. crop of tasty dates be assured respect for the date is passed generation to generation. my father always said palm trees were everything. we mainly live off. dates of the region's most valuable and lucrative exports but that's not the only reason this so important no other agriculture would be possible without the. if not for the shade provided by the tall trees other produce like oranges lemons tomatoes and lettuce would never be able to survive under the scorching sun. they. started to

change in the ninety's. used to be better. there was more water i mean that there is much less water here now compared to earlier times. this complex irrigation system uses millions of liters of water every day fifteen different well supplied water plants connecting them is a challenge but his ancestors came up with a solution the thirteenth century survival has been a continuing battle for many hundreds of years. it's been estimated that there are more than one hundred varieties of date in two news here alone many believe that these fruits of the palm contain everything you need for life and people could survive for some time on nothing but dates. the perfect food for an american lifestyle that lights nutritious and can withstand the harsh desert sun.

can do is people have lunch at noon after prayers today they'll have only a quick snack there's no time to waste because the festival is about to begin. racing camels are fed a special diet including wild millet grass and even olive oil on the morning before the race the camels will be treated to a little water an apple and an orange orange is a thought to be particularly good for camels although strangely the animals don't seem to like them. a camel speaking out on wanted fruit. despite being an important day the desert has yet another challenge in store by lunchtime a strong western wind up here. can

be extremely powerful sometimes reaching speeds of one hundred kilometers per hour a sandstorm can appear from nowhere in a matter of minutes strong enough to knock you over the wind blows sand into your lungs and it's almost impossible to see anything at all. many years of experience has produced nothing more suited to desert life than a turban. national costume is still respected in this area where people may settle their camel invention deep into the desert for several days with nothing more than a tent water. perhaps there. or it's the lure of the desert and. maybe it's just a passion for the new magic to life. just like

centuries ago they shelter from the wind behind their camels and just like their ancestors treat these graceful animals with respect. despite being known as camel day horses and dogs also play a part but camels will always be the main attraction. for almost fifty years there are visitors and participants from far and wide algeria libya oman saudi arabia the winner of the forty two kilometer marathon will receive a cash prize but money's not the real motive here winning races especially the marathon is a matter of honor and prestige was last year's winner. and therefore i don't know when i got rid. of my heart.

i don't know. everyone's ready for festivities to begin but there's a delay the country's president is expected at the festival he's traveling from the capital to be here in his original hometown. at last the head of state arrives at the festival can get underway. this. week for. the. hunting contest and camel fire. just some of the spectacles to be found at this festival. i. fighting is only possible in winter during the summer mating season

male camels become particularly aggressive they'll fight for the females and without human intervention to pull them apart it might not end until one of the beast just you. know. it was today's main event his one thousand eight hundred metre sprint has. urged their camels to gallop as fast as they can if you want. it was the maximum speed of these animals is forty five kilometers per. hour. the first camel crosses the finish line in a few minutes the second and then the third is not among the witness something's gone wrong. but i. like them because they have been austin's most is gone and they're going to afford

new york and they come in and get my comment of this. i must also seems a little upset. i don't know how many of you know. what you can do everything else. tomorrow sees the festival highlight the desert marathon the race in which was last year's winner. that is coming. from no but one. of them with.

the. marathon day nothing else is happening at the festival everyone is focused on this key race. there were forty six runs last year now there are twenty eight but competition will still be intense many of the ride as a former champions who know the taste of victory. image has never won the marathon but his camel is ready for action. are examined by events the marathon is a serious test of both the camel stamina and its ability to deliver a finals. week. it's not uncommon for a camel to be so tired by the end of the long distance race that the rider has to

dismount and lead the beast of burden by hand. eat. eat when tired these noble ships of the desert will often disobey their riders. when the race begins they conserve energy they still have three hours of desert ahead of them. didn't win this year but in the sahara people acquire a philosophical approach to life civic treason defeats. when the festival ends omar will take his camel into the desert for several days. deep in the sahara the modern world seems less significant and the problems of the city futile. life takes on have. very different meaning for those who live in the desert.

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think. that you know the price is the only industry specifically mention in the constitution which says that's because a free and open press is critical to our democracy correct call for us. to make you know i'm sorry and on this show we would yield the picture of what's actually going on we go beyond identifying a problem to try to fix rational debate a real discussion critical issues facing america by december ready to join the movement then welcome the. blog thom hartmann to washington d.c. and here's what's coming up tonight on the big picture because get.