Baking Bread in the Sahara Desert

Confucius once said: a man cannot be serious enough about his eating, for food is the force that binds society together. Before going to Morocco, I had serious reservations about eating food in a Muslim country for twelve days. Would I get sick or starve? I often wondered. Even when we sat by the campfire and watched the old gentleman making sand bread, I kept telling myself that there was no way I was going to eat something that was buried in sand. To my pleasant surprise, it turned out to be one of the most fascinating foods we had on the trip. I learned that while exploring a different culture, we need to keep our eyes, our minds as well as our mouths open.

- Wenxian Zhang, Olin Library

The sand bread was a disk-shaped loaf of bread baked on coals buried in the desert sand, as has been the practice among nomads for centuries. It was especially wonderful after camel riding and dancing with the Berber musicians!

- Susan Libby, Art History