Desert dreams
The Festival of the Desert - held in Mali amongst the dunes of the Sahara - brings to mind images of indigo-clad Tuaregs, camel caravans and the musical tradition of desert nomads.
Since I first heard of this now-famous annual music event, I have sought out and immersed myself in accounts of the celebrations, filling my imagination with what it must look, sound and feel like.
Created by Tuaregs as part of the peace deal that ended their rebellion of the 1990s, the festival is based on their traditional gatherings that soothed bubbling conflicts and marked the end of the tough nomadic season.
At its early incarnations, at the beginning of the last decade, Tuareg performers entertained fellow Tuaregs; the nomadic people coming together to exchange information, make music and celebrate.
But it was not long before the festival opened up to artists from further afield, showcasing fellow Malian musicians and inviting performers from abroad to play the small desert stage, 60 kilometres from Timbuktu.
Mali's musical exports
From Mali, this year's bill promises the magnificent voice of Oumou Sangare, the Tuareg blues of Tinariwan, husband and wife stars Amadou and Mariam - plus Vieux Farka Toure, Bassekou Kouyate, and Fantani Touré.
International guest performers include Deacon of US band Animal Collective, whose 2009 release Merriweather Post Pavilion topped many end-of-year album polls. There will also be a spectacular laser show and DJ set from dance music legend Paul Oakenfold.
That is just a taste of a line up of staggering quality. Meanwhile the rumours swirl - including the suggestion that we may see a rare appearance by Salif Keita.
However, two weeks ago, the militia group known as al-Qaeda Organisation in the Islamic Maghreb begin ramping up its activities in the region, casting a shadow over the events.
With roots in the bitter Algerian civil war of the early 1990s, the group has evolved to take on a more modern extemist agenda, and has been able to move around freely in the vast unsecured expanses of the Sahara, operating between Niger, Mauritania, Algeria and Mali.
The group's modus operandi has included the kidnapping of foreigners, making tourist trips to the desert hazardous.
New location
Events of the last few months have worried international and domestic authorities sufficiently to prompt a relocation of the Festival of the Desert.
The traditional bedouin tents, the festival stage and all its rigging and riggers are to move to the relative safety of the immediate environs of Timbuktu.
This meant the mind-expanding remoteness of the location has been lost this year - but the trade-off, according to the festival organisers, is an event that combines the tenth anniversary of this traditional Tuareg peace celebration with the 50th anniversary of the independence of Mali.
Providing strength and safety in numbers, the two occasions will be observed together as a double anniversary.
While it sounds like PR, it is understandable that an event so vital to the country's tourist economy will yield and compromise to survive.
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