From Dakhla to Dakhla
Laurent Monlaü
Rapho
DAKHLA: a port on the westernmost boundary of the Sahara desert, on the Atlantic coast.
DAKHLA: an oasis in the Libyan desert, on the boundary of the Sahara desert in Egypt, near the Nile.
DAKHLA: entrance, narrow pass, mouth of a river.
How is a dream born? Perhaps just by opening a map of Africa (one needs 2 to cover the entire continent) and becoming intoxicated with a vastness which, reduced to 3 sq. meters, would set anyone dreaming.
Preview
In the grip of this dizziness, you notice a microscopic point on the map: DAKHLA, on the Atlantic coast of Morocco's southernmost region, 23°45' north / 15° west.
And then another minute point on the opposite side of the map: DAKHLA, an oasis in Egypt on the edge of the Libyan desert, 500 km from the Nile River, 25°30' north / 28°59' east.
Maybe that is how a dream is born, leading to a six-month journey by car along the Sahel trails between two opposite points in the Sahara desert, whose name in Arabic (the river mouth, the entrance) conjures up the metaphor of an inner voyage, a "door" to the shores of an imagined reality where the eyes of the other are the most beautiful metaphor of your inner journey.
DAKHLA does not exist; the only thing that counts is the road which leads to your inner self.
Laurent Monlaü
This report has been made through the assistance of the French Ministry of Culture and Kodak. The exhibition has been made possible through the assistance of Geo magazine.
