AGAD’ART

… is the most important city in northern Niger. It is to a large extent a part of the Aïr Mountains within the Sahara Desert. Despite this, northern Niger presents a great range of diversity and contrast both in terms of population and culture, landscape and resources, as well as fauna and the flora. North Niger is also known for the large number of sites of cultural interest belonging to a distant past: (Paleolithic and Neolithic lithic sites and rock inscriptions sites); as well as a more recent past: (pre-Islamic funerary monuments, ancient mosques, ruins of medieval cities, etc.) and it’s also one of the largest uranium mining regions on Earth. The historic city of Agadez was founded in the eleventh century. For centuries, Agadez was an important marketplace for the caravans crossing the Sahara Desert. Since the sixteenth century, the Sultanate of Air has settled in Agadez. Agadez was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2013. Some major annual events are The “Cure Salée”: mid – September, Touareg, Fulani and other pastoralists gather in In-Gall, on the rich prairies of the Aïr. Several festivals as the “Aïr Festival” in Iférouane or the Bianou Festival in Agadez are taking place each year. “Read more about Agadez”