Niger
Agadez
Agadez
The Historic Centre of Agadez comprises an original mudbrick urban landscape that developed when the Sultanate of Aïr started a process of sedentarisation.
Agadez was an important centre in the trans-Saharan caravan trade from the 15th century onward. The town was built based on the structure of existing Tuareg encampments. Notable buildings, next to many traditional houses, include the Palace of the Sultan of Aïr, the Grand Mosque including its 27 metre tall minaret (the world’s tallest minaret made entirely of mudbrick), and Hotel de l’Aïr, originally a palace.
Community Perspective: the common thread here is overcoming the non-stop red travel warnings that have been in place for this Tuareg stronghold since 2007. Thomas managed to reach it by bus in 2011, while Wojciech did so by domestic flight in 2019: “It is really authentic and gives an impression of how Saharan cities looked like a couple of hundred years ago”.
Site Info
Official Information
- Full Name
- Agadez (Historic Centre of Agadez) (ID: 1268)
- Country
- Niger
- Status
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Inscribed 2013
Site history
History of Agadez
- 2013: Inscribed
- Inscribed
- WHS Type
- Cultural
- Criteria
- ii
- iii
Links
- UNESCO
- whc.unesco.org
All Links
UNESCO.org
- whc.unesco.org — whc.unesco.org/
Related Resources
- infos-niger.com — Agadez Ville
News Article
- Aug. 18, 2018 news24.com — Fears for historic city of Agadez as flooding continues
- June 27, 2013 khaleejtimes.com — WH status breathes new hope into Niger
Community Information
- Community Category
- Urban landscape: African
- Urban landscape: Medieval European
Travel Information
Red Zone Travel Advisory
Recent Connections
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Perfect Inscriptions
2013 -
Red Zone Travel Advisory
Niger fully off-limits -
African Kingdoms
Sultanate of Agadez (1404 - 1500… then …
Connections of Agadez
- Geography
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Desert Cultural Landscapes
Crit iv "From the 15th century, Agadez, "the gateway to the desert", became an exceptional crossroads for the caravan trade." -
Sahara
located on the south-eastern fringes of the Sahara desert (AB ev)
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- Trivia
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Minority communities
Tuareg capital of Niger. The Tuaregs constitute about 10 percent of total population -
Hotels in Historic Buildings
The Hotel de l'Aïr is a palace built in 1917 for Kaossen, the leader of the rebellion against the colonial power. It was later converted into a hotel. The hotel restaurant has remarkable ribbed vaults, supported by four large pillars. (AB ev)
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- History
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Berbers
The historic centre of Agadez dates back to the 15th and 16th centuries, when the Sultanate of Aïr established itself there, encouraging the consolidation of Tuareg tribes and the development of trans-Saharan economic and cultural exchanges. (Nom file) The city is still inhabited mainly be Tuaregs. -
African Kingdoms
Sultanate of Agadez (1404 - 1500… then Songhai)See en.wikipedia.org
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Trans Saharan trade routes
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- Architecture
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Vernacular architecture
vernacular mudbrick architecture (AB ev) -
Sudano-Sahelian architecture
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Earth Architecture
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- World Heritage Process
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Perfect Inscriptions
2013
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- Religion and Belief
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Notable mosques
Grand Mosque and Mosques of Tend
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- Human Activity
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Salt
It also formed part of the Saharan 'Salt Route' leading towards the Sahel in Africa (AB ev)
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- Constructions
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Notable minarets
a lofty minaret made entirely of mudbrick (AB ev) -
Pyramids
Its 27 metre tall minaret is in the form of a truncated pyramid. (AB ev)
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- Timeline
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Built in the 15th century
The earliest built heritage in Agadez dates from the 15th and 16th centuries. (AB ev)
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- Visiting conditions
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Red Zone Travel Advisory
Niger fully off-limits
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News
- news24.com 08/18/2018
- Fears for historic city of Agadez …
- khaleejtimes.com 06/27/2013
- WH status breathes new hope into N…
Recent Visitors
- CynthiaSam
- marcel staron
- Marcobrey
- Wojciech Fedoruk
- Luis Filipe Gaspar
- Stanislaw Warwas
- Roman Bruehwiler
Community Reviews
Show full reviews
There are not many big cities in Sahara, so Agadez was always outstanding - it is located on the crossroads of trade routes North-South and East-West of the desert. Agadez was (and still is) treated by Tuaregs as their capital. Its tourist attractivity increased in the 1980s, with the increase of popularity of the Paris-Dakar Rally. Even at the beginning of the 21st century, every self-respecting globetrotter exploring West Africa stopped at Agadez, visiting nearby Tenere National Park and the Air Mountains. Air France maintained regular scheduled flights from French cities, and hotels and tourism experienced real desert in the city. Then, however, much worse times came to the region.
In 2007, another Tuareg rebellion broke out in the region, destabilizing the province and bringing several hundred deaths. Although in 2009 peace was established (with Gaddafi acting as a mediator), but soon after that Al-Qaeda and Boko Haram messed up and the situation in neighboring Mauritania, Libya and Tchad suffered a drastic deterioration. It was better in Niger itself, but it was also dangerous to go beyond Niamey and the south of the country. Tourists left Agadez for a long time.
At the moment, Western governments still issue red travel warnings to the whole Agadez region. But it turned out that Niger Airlines have regular flights from Niamey to Agadez so it could not be that dangerous and we decided to go. Ticket Niamey - Agadez and Agadez - Zinder costs approximately 330 euros per person (cannot be …
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Agadez has been on my African agenda for a very long time, and it was only in autumn 2011 that I made my way to this remote Tuareg outpost in Niger's northern Air region.There were travel warnings in place by almost all western governments, and direct flights to Agadez have all been cancelled.The only practical way to reach the Sahel town was the early morning bus that leaves the Niger's capital Niamey at 4.30h. A sunrise to sunset expedition that usually takes 12 long hours.
As we reached the outskirts of Agadez, there was a police checkup, my passport was taken away, and I got the message to show up at the Police Headquarters the next day for interview!but no problem, I was just advised not to leave
town for some Sahel adventure without informing the Police headquarters!
The old town of Agadez is manageable in just one day by foot and the main attractions like the Grand Mosque, originally built 1515,rebuild in 1844, then the Sultans Palace, yes there is still a real Sultan residing here, and sometimes he even gives audience to tourists and visitors!
The real charm of Agadez is to just wander around in its narrow sandy alleys, climb the old houses, the best view that can be enjoyed is from the roof terrace of a restaurant just opposite the Grand Mosque.
Also worth a visit is the old bakery, la Maison du boulanger, its a perfect place to get a first hand impression how daily …
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