and lightly populated. Lake Chad, formerly a very large lake, is rapidly declining in size and may even be smaller than is shown on this map. When I was there in the 1960s, the lake was fairly close to N’Djamena (formerly Fort Lamy), the capital, but was already noticeably diminishing in size. At the time, this was attributed to local tribesmen depleting large areas of vegetation to feed their herds of animals, but the real reason is probably a shifting of the earth’s sub-soil, causing this large water mass to shrink. In any case, most people live in the southern third of the country. The map contains a detailed inset map of N’Djamena and a Top Attractions list of interesting places worth visiting. My favourite is the Tibesti Mountains, but Guelta d’Archei is a fascinating place to visit.