The earliest incense and spice trade was conducted using camels to carry goods between the markets of Arabia and the Mediterranean. Just a few hundreds of years ago, caravans of as many as 120,000 camels in straggling lines up to six miles long linked Middle Eastern cities from Arabia to Jerusalem. Even today, camels move as much as 30 percent of the cargo traffic in the Gobi. In North Africa, it is still often cheaper to move goods by camel than by truck, although camel caravans are disappearing. Remaining, however, are 3,000-camel caravans that twice a year carry salt 375 miles from mines in Taoudenni, Mali, to Timbuktu, which lies in the center of that northwest African country.
Camels figure in a startling case of cultural reversal.
The use of wheels is widely considered an emblem of cultural progress. Only in the last century did wheeled transport vehicles begin to reappear. Bactrians appear not to have been used in battle. Genghis Khan conquered his huge Mongol empire on charging steeds, while camels plodded along carrying the provisions. Outside of the desert, to which camels are better adapted, horses are superior for riding into combat.