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, which is located at an oasis. In 1911 Charles de Foucauld, a French soldier turned missionary, built a crude hermitage at Assekrem. De…
