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The Nayyir desert

صحراء نيسر

A thinly inhabited desert that merchants cross on the way to Awdaghast and Ghana, mostly in the autumn season. Water is scarce and found at known stations; one stretch of about fourteen days has none. The author describes travel by night, with rest through the heat of midday 1, 2.

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Region
West Africa & Sahel
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Overview

The Nayyir desert is sparsely inhabited. According to al-Idrisi, merchants cross it to Awdaghust and Ghana in the autumn. Water in it is scarce, and it has known water-points. There is a stretch of about fourteen days without water. Caravans travel through it by night and rest at midday. 3 4

Sources

  1. Al-Idrisi, Nuzhat al-Mushtaq fi ikhtiraq al-afaq (Cairo: Maktabat al-Thaqafa al-Diniyya, 2002), 2 vols., p. 107
  2. Al-Idrisi, Nuzhat al-Mushtaq fi ikhtiraq al-afaq (Cairo: Maktabat al-Thaqafa al-Diniyya, 2002), 2 vols., p. 108
  3. Al-Idrisi, Nuzhat al-Mushtaq fi ikhtiraq al-afaq (Cairo: Maktabat al-Thaqafa al-Diniyya, 2002), 2 vols., p.107
  4. Al-Idrisi, Nuzhat al-Mushtaq fi ikhtiraq al-afaq (Cairo: Maktabat al-Thaqafa al-Diniyya, 2002), 2 vols., p.108
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “The Nayyir desert”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/place/nayyir-desert/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Accessed 2026-10-17.

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