Ryanair Flies Into Sahara on Sea (And Africa’s Oldest Conflict)
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article in The Times.
This is the sub-heading.
Chieftains fighting for a strip of land claimed by Morocco are threatening to step up attacks as the tourist industry grows
These are the first three paragraphs.
Towards the end of the flight on Ryanair’s new route to Dakhla a vast expanse of apparently pristine desert coastline unfurls below.
But this land is nowhere near as tranquil as it looks from above. Instead the Irish airline’s choice of destination has flown the company into the heart of Africa’s longest-running conflict.
These direct flights from Madrid and Lanzarote take its planes to the coastal town in Western Sahara, a tract of desert the size of Britain that tribal chieftains and three countries have struggled to control through the centuries.
This is a Google Map showing the location of Western Sahara with respect to the Canary Islands.
Note.
- The islands off the recognisable coast of North West Africa are the Canary Islands.
- Lanzarote is the Southermostof the two North-Eastern islands.
- Western Sahara is to the South-East of the Canary Islands.
- Dakhla is on the Africa coast at the Southern edge of the map.
The map will be enlarged if you click on it.
I have my thoughts on this article.
Western Sahara And Coeliac Disease
I have a feeling that this area has one of the highest levels of coeliac disease in the world.
- It all started some years ago, when they had a terrible famine, so the US donated a lot of wheat to alleviate the famine.
- But the people of Western Sahara don’t grow wheat and their bodily systems can’t cope with gluten.
- This gave the people a lot of coeliac disease, which can be passed on genetically.
A similar process went on during the slave trade, where the slavers fed their captives on bread made from wheat and water. Consequently, many of the slaves suffered from various problems and that could be why many died on the crossing. These days there is coeliac genes among the Caribbean and American black population that has been passed down through the generations.
After their first actions, it only looks like Trummkopf and his sidekick are going to make matters worse, after their destruction of US Aid.
Is The Morocco-UK Power Project Just A Taste Of The Future?
After writing WSP Lends Hand On Morocco-UK Power Link, about WSP’s involvement in the ambitious project to create a 3.6 GW interconnector to bring power from Morocco to the UK, I’m now certain, that this major project will come to fruition.
Out of curiosity, I created this Google Map of North-West Africa.
Note.
- Morocco is at the North edge of the map.
- The map is filled with the Sahara Desert.
- The Caqnary Islands are off the coast of Africa.
- Three of the least developed countries in the world; Western Sahara, Mauritania and Mali, circle the desert to the South-West and South.
I do wonder if the Morocco-UK Power Project is a success, if other developers and countries will decide to developer their renewable energy resources.
- France, Portugal and Spain may want to get involved.
- High-Temperature Electrolysis boosted by solar energy, could be used to generate hydrogen for shipment to Europe.
- The interconnectors to Europe will be upgraded.
Given the size of the desert, I’m sure that several GW of electricity could be delivered to Europe.
The Anonymous Widower 