NARROW ENTRANCES

The entrance to a tent of the Afar people, who live in north-eastern Ethiopia and neighbouring Eritrea, is positioned so that it is in the shade from midday to early afternoon, during the hottest part of the day. High contrasts between sunlight and shade at midday characterise the image of the tent, the interior of which lies in complete darkness behind the narrow entrance with the rolled-up curtain. In the dry, windy Danakil Desert, the tents are flatter than in the more fertile delta of the Awash River. In the desert, the Afar stick to the materials they find locally to build their tents, while in the Awash region they also use plastic sheeting to seal the tents against the rain.