"Boundless stretches of sand are the highways of Saharan Niger. Less than 500 miles [805 kilometers] of major paved roads serve a nation three times as large as California. Below the horizon a caravan heads for the town of Bilma to take on salt, a prized commodity. Another train laden with salt and other trade items heads toward markets at the desert's edge."

(Text and photograph from "Journey to the Heart of the Sahara," March 1999, National Geographic magazine)