Features Editors: Paris: Kate Millar +33 1 4041 4636 Hong Kong: Liz Thomas +852 2829 6211 French archaeologist Thierry Tillet is one of the last European explorers of the Sahara, a region that conjures up romantic notions but has also long been troubled by rebel insurgencies and jihadists. An AFP team spent five days with Tillet on a rare expedition by camel convoy through the Mauritanian desert, mapping sites, looking for Neolithic-era objects and visiting the fading town of Tichitt, once a thriving desert trading hub. We are offering the following items: + On a caravan, with one of the Sahara's last European explorers + Mauritania's former desert jewel, forgotten and fading + Myth of the Sahara remains a lure for France today Mauritania-Sahara-archaeology,FEATURE IN THE SAHARA, Mauritania Climbing into the saddle, he adjusts the scarf protecting his head from the sun and, with a tap on the camel's back, the caravan sets off. Thierry Tillet is again off to explore the vast Saharan desert, at the head of a nine-camel convoy. 1,400 words by Amaury Hauchard. Pictures by John Wessels. Video by Adrien Barbier Mauritania-heritage-demographics-Tichitt,FOCUS TICHITT, Mauritania A few centuries ago, Tichitt was a citadel of trade where Saharan merchants bearing gold, salt and cloth would stop to water their camels and haggle. 650 words by Amaury Hauchard. Pictures by John Wessels. Video by Adrien Barbier Sahara-France-Mali-unrest,FOCUS NOUAKCHOTT France, say historians, has a deeply romantic notion of the western Sahara, forged in colonial times and tinged by the literature that emerged from it. The honeyed perspective endures today but has been eclipsed by pragmatism as France pursues its military commitment to the Sahel. 750 words by Amaury Hauchard. Pictures by John Wessels afp