Erg Chebbi offer camel trips into the dunes, taking tourists on overnight trips to permanent campsites several kilometres into the erg, and out of sight of the hotels. Erg Chebbi's proximity to the tourist center has led to the erg sometimes being referred to as "dunes of Merzouga." During the warmest part of the year, Moroccans come to Erg Chebbi to be buried neck-deep in the hot sand for a few minutes at a time. This is considered to be a treatment for rheumatism. Erg Chebbi Erg Chebbi () is one of Morocco's several ergs – large seas of dunes formed by
What Is a Nation? Language, by contrast, "invites us but does not force us, to unite". Countries which share the Spanish or English language don't merge with one another, while the people of Switzerland speak several languages. Modern nationhood also cannot be based on religion, which Renan observes, is currently practiced according to individual belief. "You can be French, English, German, yet Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, or practicing no religion". Mutuality of interests is fine for corporations and their affiliates, but nationality is based on sentiment. Geography merely leads us astray, and often to violence: "Mountains don't know how to carve out countries". Renan concludes