There is much to recommend in Chad. Its capital, N'Djamena, is a friendly and laid-back city with a wonderful Central Market, where the whole experience of haggling for African produce is exceptionally good fun.

Lake Chad, once one of the largest freshwater lakes in the world, is still a serene sight to behold, despite its gradual shrinkage due to climate change and increased demands. It is still of huge economic importance, providing water to millions of people in surrounding countries. Indeed, Chad itself, although one of the poorest of Africa's nations, is still geographically staggering, ranging from desert in the north to fertile farmland in the south.

Chad was first defined as a national territory in 1910, as one of the four making up French Equatorial Africa. Chad achieved independence in 1960 with François Tombalbaye, leader of the Parti Progressiste Tchadien (PPT), as prime minister. Its history since then has been characterised by political instability and tensions, largely due to religious and cultural divisions between the Muslim north and Christian/animist south - a pattern that may be found in many other African countries, including Nigeria and Sudan.