Tuaregs are the true sons of the desert; able to survive like no others can, in the harshest of conditions. The noble inmouchar Gacel Sayah, presides over a huge corner of the desert. One day, two fugitives arrive from the north and Gacel, in accordance with their ancient and sacred hospitality laws, gives them shelter. At the time, Gacel is unaware that this act of kindness will lead to a series of deadly adventures... A classic epic and at the same time a beautiful rendition to one of the world's most unique cultures.

As a minority in these two countries, the Tuaregs have come into a difficult situation and today they are in heavy troubles. Since independence in 1960, the Tuaregs have been ignored constantly by the different governments. Today the consequences of this are visible in their areas which are underdeveloped and the Young Tuaregs are mostly illiterate and untrained and with no hope in the future.

The art of being Tuareg has fascinated travellers and scholars alike throughout recorded history. The elegance and beauty of the Tuareg peoples, their dress and exquisite ornament, their large white riding camels, their refined song, speech and dance -- all have been subjects of rhapsodic descriptions. Together they suggest a Tuareg "mystique," an existence made into art and lived out in one of the world's harshest environments. Art of Being Tuareg: Sahara Nomads in a Modern World examines this "mystique," or identity, as it has been constructed by the Tuareg themselves and by their observers. Historically, the Tuareg have been stereotyped in the West, seen as romantic desert-dwelling warriors and nomads, or even as "bandits" resisting central governmental authority. What these generalizations fail to acknowledge are the complexities of Tuareg history and the remarkable resilience and responsiveness of this people to dramatically changing circumstances, especially their late-twentieth century adaptations to modernity. Art of Being Tuareg, the rich, vibrant result of three decades of research and collaboration on the part of American, European, and Tuareg scholars and institutions, is one of only a handful of English-language volumes on Tuareg life and culture. Bringing together essays by many of today's most accomplished scholars of Tuareg art and society, it presents a comprehensive view of what it is to be Tuareg, exploring the remarkable arts that remain dynamic markers of the strength and perseverance of this highly inventive people.

Part history and part anthropology, This is an account of the life of the Tuareg and their world.

Published to coincide with the exhibition at the Royal Geographical Society, London, June 2015.

Jeremy Keenan travelled to Algeria in search of the Tuareg, the fearsome indigo-veiled nomads of the Central Sahara with whom he had lived as a young anthropologist. A chance meeting set him on his way to the Tuareg traditional fortress, the vast mountainous area of Ahaggar, in the tracks of bandits, his tents pitched besides caves decorated with pre-historic paintings. Here he discovered that the Tuareg, who had learned to survive as tourist guides after the horrors of Algeria's war of independence, were now being starved out of their livelihood by the violence in the north.