A Somali of the Issa clan loads his camels with salt at Lake Assal. He has rubbed henna into his hair and beard to make them orange-red. At 509 feet below sea level, Lake Assal is the lowest place in Africa. Nomadic tribesmen come here regularly with their camels to collect salt. Extremely high midday temperatures, which can surpass 1200 F, force them to arrive in the late afternoon and immediately set about collecting salt from deposits that are at least 109 feet thick. Each animal carries between four and ten thirty-pound sacks of salt according to its size and maturity. This man sells his salt across the border in Somalia.