Our journey brings us to Chad, a vast and rugged country in North-Central Africa often called the “Dead Heart of Africa” because of its location in the middle of the continent and its many deserts. There are around 19 million people living here, and the capital is N’Djamena. The official languages are Arabic and French, but with over 200 different ethnic groups, you will hear a huge variety of local languages spoken in the markets.

Chad covers about 1.28 million square kilometers, or 496,000 square miles. To imagine its size, the country is roughly the same size as the state of Alaska in the U.S. In European terms, it is larger than the combined area of France, Germany, and Italy. Most of the north is covered by the Sahara Desert, while the south is filled with tropical savannas.

The most popular sport is Football, but Chad is also very famous for Traditional Wrestling, where strong athletes compete in front of large, cheering crowds in the villages. Their national animal is the Lion, representing the courage of the people and the wildlife found in the southern plains.

The flag consists of three vertical stripes of blue, yellow, and red, where the blue represents the sky and hope, the yellow stands for the sun and the desert, and the red symbolizes the progress and sacrifice of the citizens.

The food is simple and designed to provide energy for life in a hot climate. The most common dish is Esh, a thick, boiled flour dough served with a variety of sauces known as Moulah, which are often made from dried meat, okra, or peanuts. They also drink a lot of Chai, a strong, sweet tea often flavored with cloves or ginger.

Chad is home to the Tibesti Mountains, a range of giant, ancient volcanoes in the middle of the Sahara that look like a landscape from another planet. In the northeast, you can find the Ennedi Massif, a breathtaking desert plateau where wind and water have carved massive stone arches and towers out of the rock. Deep inside these canyons, there are ancient cave paintings that are thousands of years old, showing that people once lived there when the desert was green. The country is also named after Lake Chad, which was once one of the largest lakes in the world; even though it has shrunk over the years, it remains a vital source of water and fish for millions of people.

From the towering sand dunes of the north to the busy riverbanks of the south, Chad is a land of hidden wonders and immense scale. Merci and Shukran! That means “Thank you!”