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Though the 1200 mile journey from North Africa to West Africa was a long and difficult one, traders began crossing the Sahara Desert in camel caravans after the 7th Century AD.  Africa’s coastline—a smooth stretch of land with few bays and inlets to shelter large ships of travelers—made the journey by sea too difficult for Africans before the 16th Century.  Thus, after the 7th Century, Muslims from North Africa seeking to spread the message of Islam and to profit from trade ventured across the Sahara Desert.  They traveled in large caravans that transported salt and other prized items to be traded for gold in West Africa.  Between the 700s and the 1500s, trans-Saharan travelers contributed to both the development of powerful trading empires in West Africa, and the spread of the message of Islam from North to West Africa.Despite the rough conditions of the crossing—the desert heat was extreme during the day and both humans and camels traveled for long periods without water sources—trade between North and West Africa thrived for 8 centuries.  The rigors endured by thousands of trans-Saharan traders during this time were recorded by the renowned Ibn Battuta, a Moroccan traveler and writer who accompanied a trade caravan on the journey in 1352.Click here for directions.