The importance of Insalah is due to its geographical position. It lies at the eastern extremity of the long line of oases which commences with Colomb Béchar, extending through Beni Abbes and the Touat. Owing to this comparatively fertile region of oases giving a good line of communication into the Sahara from the west, caravans from the borders of south-west Morocco naturally follow this route and come to Insalah. From Insalah there are several important caravan routes leading north, south, and east. The main caravan route from the north, leading from Biskra to the Niger, passes through here; while caravans proceeding to Tripoli from the west also use this route in preference to any other.
Water at Insalah is very plentiful, but slightly salt. It is found at a depth of about fifteen feet, but the second layer of water, which is preferable for Europeans to drink, is found at a depth of thirty feet.
The principal resource of Insalah is its dates. The population lives on the date harvest, and there is a sufficient surplus for sale to nomads in less favoured localities in the desert. A small quantity of corn and barley is also grown by irrigation. The method of irrigating is worthy of notice. Water is, of course, led from the wells, of which there are positively hundreds at Insalah. Small trenches are dug, called “fogara,” by which the water is conducted from the well to the foot of the palm trees, thus irrigating the dates. Around the foot of the palms each landowner grows a small farm of corn or barley. These little farms are irrigated from the main “fogara,” by minor channels leading in different directions.
During the past three years the French have bored numerous artesian wells. The largest gives an output of 4500 litres a minute. The result of all this irrigation is to produce a wonderfully verdant mass of foliage, which is most refreshing to the eye of the desert traveller, who, like myself, has not seen anything that could be called really green for many weeks. It cannot be said that Insalah is a prosperous centre of trade. Beyond a little commerce in dates it does no business whatever. The inhabitants are poor. The place is being rapidly encroached on by the desert sand, and, altogether, its future does not appear bright. In order to prevent the sand from encroaching desperate efforts have been made to keep it out by building barricades on the side from which the prevailing wind blows. These barricades, built on the north-east of the oasis, are made of batches of palm leaves, placed on the tops of high mounds or sand-dunes. But Insalah is a place of sand, in which, during the greater part of the year, a strong north-east wind is blowing, ever bringing more and more sand into the oasis. The so-called streets are several inches deep in soft sand, and everything gets covered with it in the houses.
The Artesian Well of El Barha at Insalah
By boring artesian wells the French have done much to fertilize the Insalah oasis. The first layer of water at Insalah is close to the surface, but is exceedingly saline, which is seen by the curious crust of salt deposited on the surface of the sand in the vicinity of a well. The water at this artesian well rushes out with great force, being led off in various directions by small channels to irrigate the surrounding land.
The Market-Place, Touggourt
Groups of Arabs are to be seen, squatting in Eastern fashion, selling their wares at these stalls in the daytime. The market is also a great place for gossip, where the news of the desert is dispensed—often highly coloured—to all comers. One of the chief features here is the tea tavern, much frequented by these people, who, being Mussulmans, are forbidden, by the tenets of the Koran, to drink alcohol.