13 AVENTURA In 2009, I was lucky enough to witness the incredible salt caravans of the Afar tribe in the Danakil Desert. Never-ending caravans of camels transporting blocks of salt to the high lands. A way of life that is gradually being lost with the arrival of lorries. A clear example is that of the Bilma salt mines in Niger. In its golden age, caravans made up of over 10,000 camels crossed the sands of the Ténéré desert taking the highly-valued salt to markets like the one in Agadez. Around 4500 BC, salt was already being mined in Azerbaijan. The Silk Road bore witness to the start of the trade in this precious good, used as currency for buying other products such as wheat, millet, copper or obsidian.
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