Tabelbala

Tabelbala is an isolated oasis in the western Sahara, where fortified villages and date gardens stand amid the desert. Underground foggaras bring water to the palms. Its inhabitants speak Korandje, a Northern Songhay language whose presence so far north reflects connections across the Sahara. Scholars trace its arrival from the Niger region to the medieval period; the language later acquired words from Berber and Arabic as people from different backgrounds settled in the oasis.