To kid-me, being an archaeologist meant emerging from the whorls of a sandstorm with a scarf wrapped around my face as I rode a camel through the golden-orange dunes of the Sahara Desert ...

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A layer of sand skims Morocco's Draa Valley as the scorching winds carry it over the Sahara Desert's amber dunes ... Encased in the verdant oasis, the caravan town of Zagora sits separated ...