Word: sahara
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...races through the arduous terrain, blistering heat and frigid cold of the world's four largest deserts. Known as the 4 Deserts Race, the event takes in the salt plains of the Atacama in Chile, the riverbeds and hills of the Gobi in China, the undulating dunes of the Sahara in Egypt and the icy flats of Antarctica. Participants can tackle all the deserts or just one if they choose. And while organizers provide water and lay on tents and bathing facilities each night, everyone is expected to carry their own food and other essential gear...
...Karnazes (famed for once having run 50 marathons in 50 consecutive days) the ultimate high comes from meeting indigenous peoples en route - the Bedouin in the Sahara; Kyrgyz, Mongolians and Uighurs in the Gobi; and Atacameño tribesmen in the Atacama. "Although there are vast cultural differences between the native populations and the racers," he says, "a smile seems to cut right through the divergence and unite...
...perceived northern domination of the post-colonial government in Khartoum spilled over quickly into the First Sudanese civil war, which lasted from 1955 to 1972. Whereas then the hostility focused on land and water - southern Sudan has more water than the north, on the edges of the Sahara - today that has been reinforced by oil. The ICG says 70% of Sudan's oil reserves also lie in the south. Much of the 500,000 barrels of crude exported every day from Sudan is pumped from Abyei. The south, whose various leaders agitate either for independence or at least meaningful autonomy...
...most precious is Ghadames, an old oasis town 380 miles (611 km) south of Tripoli. Until the 19th century, it was one of the principal trading posts of the Sahara, selling everything from ivory to incense to ostrich eggs. Beginning in the '70s, the locals largely abandoned the old town in favor of a new city with wide roads and air-conditioning; they only began returning a decade ago, after investment from the U.N. Development Programme helped to restore some of Ghadames' former charms...
...takes on only clients who are committed to democracy, nonviolence and human rights--and those nobody else seems willing to help. They include the Polisario Front, the government in exile of Moroccan-controlled Western Sahara, which ID is helping in its struggle for independence. Then there's Somaliland, which has been independent since 1991 and is taking advice from ID on how to gain international recognition. "You should be engaging with all groups," says Ross, "not just governments sitting in offices and embassies." After a career spent deciding the fates of people who weren't even in the room, Ross...