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All Algeria Tamanrasset Assekrem

Assekrem

A century-old stone hermitage overlooks this remote pass in the Hoggar mountains, surrounded by a landscape of eroded volcanic cores.

Tamanrasset, Algeria

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SaharaOverland
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  Azzedine Rouichi / Unsplash
  Azzedine Rouichi / Unsplash
  Mohammed AissaMoussa/CC BY-SA 3.0
  Patrick Gruban/CC BY-SA 2.0
Charles de Foucauld’s hermitage   Patrick Gruban/CC BY-SA 2.0
Charles de Foucauld’s hermitage in 1991   Albert Backer / CC BY-SA 3.0
  Zinou2go/CC BY-SA 4.0
Camel trek to Assekrem   SaharaOverland / Atlas Obscura User
Approach to Assekrem   SaharaOverland / Atlas Obscura User
Assekrem sunrise   SaharaOverland / Atlas Obscura User
  Patrick Hamilton/CC BY 2.0
On the way   blchdefoucauld / Atlas Obscura User
  Tassili / Atlas Obscura User
Hermitage of the Little Brothers of Jesus of Charles de Foucauld   blchdefoucauld / Atlas Obscura User
  Tassili / Atlas Obscura User
  Tassili / Atlas Obscura User
  Tassili / Atlas Obscura User
  Tassili / Atlas Obscura User
  stephansulser / Atlas Obscura User
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About

In the middle of the Sahara lie the Hoggar Mountains, a brutal landscape of basalt buttes erupting from the barren landscape. In the heart of the Hoggar is a dramatic cluster of eroded volcanic cores overlooked by the 9,000-foot high Assekrem Pass.

Part of the Ahaggar National Park, Assekrem is one of the many wonders of southern Algeria. It is located some 50 miles from the city of Tamanrasset.

In 1911 Charles de Foucauld, a French soldier turned missionary, built a crude hermitage at Assekrem. De Foucauld spent most of his time in Tamanrasset, living closely with the Tuareg people and studying their language and culture. In 1916, he was assassinated as a suspected spy. He was beatified in 2005 and the hermitage is still tended today by aging monks from the order of Les Petites Frères de Jésus (the Little Brothers of Jesus), who were inspired by de Foucauld’s life and works.

There is a lodge at Assekrem where visitors can spend the night to take in the stunning views of sunrise and sunset across the brooding monoliths from the plateau just above the pass.

 

Related Tags

Deserts Monks Hermits Christianity

Know Before You Go

These days access to southern Algeria is restricted, particularly in the province of Tamanrasset. You can fly there from Algiers in about 3 hours but will need the help of a local tour agency to get a visa and to organize the drive to the col, or lay on a camel trek which takes about a week.

Community Contributors

Added By

SaharaOverland

Edited By

Michelle Cassidy, blchdefoucauld, stephansulser, Tassili

  • Michelle Cassidy
  • blchdefoucauld
  • stephansulser
  • Tassili

Published

June 12, 2020

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Sources
  • https://sahara-overland.com/2020/05/18/a-is-for-assekrem/
  • https://www.charlesdefoucauld.org/en/biographie.php
  • https://www.nytimes.com/1981/07/12/travel/a-pilgrimage-to-a-mystic-s-hermitage-in-algeria.html
  • https://www.algeria.com/attractions/heritage-sites/hermitage-of-charles-foucauld/
  • https://www.franciscanmedia.org/blessed-charles-de-foucauld/
Assekrem
Tamanrasset
Algeria
23.283889, 5.608889

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