The Great Railway Bazaar

In the spring of 2016 I traveled to the Sahara desert to ride the legendary Mauritanian iron ore train. At a length of 2.5 kilometers the train is said to be one of the longest in the world. The railway is Mauritania's economical artery and a relict of her colonial past. Built in the 60's by the French and later taken over by SNIM (National mining and industrial company), it has been operating for almost half a century, tirelessly transporting iron ore from the mines of Zouerat to the port of Nouadhibou. As there are no road connections between the two cities, people, their goods and cattle are allowed to travel for free inside the train's cargo carriages. For a group of Mauritanian men, transporting food products and sheep is their full time job. They travel between the mines and the port several times a week, enduring a tough 16 hour long journey through sandstorms, extremely hot days and freezing cold nights.