PHOTO BOOK GALLERY

All along the border route from In Aménas, the desert has been ravaged by oil and gas exploration. But as I looked into the distance, beyond the tree, at the majestic terracotta dunes in Libya that stretch to infinity, I was reminded of my favourite Sufi saying, ‘This too will pass’. Long after the last whisper of gas has been squeezed from the ground, the desert will still be here, and its sand will surely reclaim the burnt-out craters left behind by men in blue overalls.