Gorom-Gorom (its name means, in the Songhai language, "sit down, let’s sit down") is located in the north-east of Burkina Faso, about 290 km north-east of Ouagadougou, it is a typical Sahel town immersed in a sea of dunes and swept by the winds. It is the last town before the lonely desert of dunes and hissing silences. In Gorom-Gorom you stay in pure Sudanese style, completely immersing yourself in the atmosphere of Sahel life. The predominantly nomadic population is composed mainly of Tuareg (‘the blue men of the desert’), Peul, Maure and Songhaï. It has a very picturesque old quarter, a maze of houses made of banco (mud) bricks and a series of pretty little crenellated mosques with gentle silhouettes. Every Thursday there is a very famous market, and without doubt the largest, most colorful and interesting in Burkina Faso, if not the entire Sahel. Ethnic groups from the Sahel and the Sahara mix harmoniously here: there are Tuareg shepherds dressed in indigo, Peul shepherds and Songhaï farmers in bright yellow robes and red turbans, and Peul women in brightly colored boubou (robes), their hair braided with pearls and jewels, and round gold and silver earrings. Men wear leather belts and elaborate silver swords. And all of this is not counting the bizarre foods and crafts of the desert. You can find everything: earthenware, spices and grains, meat, clothes, fabrics, as well as typical desert foods: sweet dates, lait caillé (curdled milk). In a separate corner, valuable livestock is also on sale: goats, sheep, mules, buffaloes and more.
