Michel Vieuchange, born in

Nevers Nevers ( , ; la, Noviodunum, later ''Nevirnum'' and ''Nebirnum'') is the prefecture of the Nièvre department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in central France. It was the principal city of the former province of Nivernais. It is sou ...

in 1904 and died in

Agadir Agadir ( ar, أݣادير, ʾagādīr; shi, ⴰⴳⴰⴷⵉⵔ) is a major city in Morocco, on the shore of the Atlantic Ocean near the foot of the Atlas Mountains, just north of the point where the Souss River flows into the ocean, and south ...

in 1930, was a French adventurer who was the first European to visit the abandoned ruins of the walled city of

Smara Smara ( ar, السمارة ''as-Samāra'', also romanized ''Semara''; es, Esmara) is a city in the Moroccan-controlled part of Western Sahara, with a population of 57,035 recorded in the 2014 Moroccan census. It is served by Smara Airport and Sm ...

, in the interior of the Sahara. On 10 September 1930 Vieuchange set off on his journey of discovery into a largely unexplored region of North Africa. He was unsure of the exact location of Smara, nor did he speak

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

or Berber; languages of the few nomads in the region. Through severe hardship he reached his goal and returned to civilization on 16 November at the Moroccan town of

Tiznit Tiznit or Tiznet ( ar, تزنيت, Tiznīt; ber, ⵜⵉⵣⵏⵉⵜ, Tiznit) is a town in the west coast of the Moroccan region of Souss-Massa, founded in 1881 by the Sultan Hassan I. It is the capital of Tiznit Province and recorded a populat ...

, almost 400 km from Smara. Vieuchange died a few days later, weakened from

dysentery Dysentery (UK pronunciation: , US: ), historically known as the bloody flux, is a type of gastroenteritis that results in bloody diarrhea. Other symptoms may include fever, abdominal pain, and a feeling of incomplete defecation. Complications ...

. He maintained a journal of his adventure, which was published by his brother

Jean Vieuchange Jean Joseph Marie Vieuchange (1906–2003) was a French adventurer and medical doctor, best known for preparing for publication the hand-written notebooks of his brother, Michel, describing his discovery of Smara in the Western Sahara in November ...

in 1932 as ''Smara, chez les dissidents du Sud marocain et du Rio de Oro'' (English title: ''Smara: The Forbidden City''). In his early twenties, Vieuchange obtained a degree in literature and wrote a first (unpublished) novel ''Hipparète'' that showed his fascination for the culture and history of Ancient Greece. He was also intrigued by the new movie industry and dreamed of becoming a film director after working as an assistant for Abel Gance on ''

Napoléon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

''. His expedition to Smara became an obsession to which he sacrificed everything, going so far as to have his gold tooth removed before travelling to Morocco and disguising himself as a Berber woman to reach Smara. His desire for adventure was born of the idea that a man of letters should also be "a man of action". He was highly influenced by such French writers as Antoine de Saint-Exupéry,

André Gide André Paul Guillaume Gide (; 22 November 1869 – 19 February 1951) was a French author and winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature (in 1947). Gide's career ranged from its beginnings in the symbolist movement, to the advent of anticolonialism ...

, and

Paul Claudel Paul Claudel (; 6 August 1868 – 23 February 1955) was a French poet, dramatist and diplomat, and the younger brother of the sculptor Camille Claudel. He was most famous for his verse dramas, which often convey his devout Catholicism. Early lif ...

. The latter wrote the preface to the French version of "Smara: The Forbidden City" when first published in 1932. The English version in its later reprint was prefaced by

Paul Bowles Paul Frederic Bowles (; December 30, 1910November 18, 1999) was an American expatriate composer, author, and translator. He became associated with the Moroccan city of Tangier, where he settled in 1947 and lived for 52 years to the end of his ...

, author of the 1949 novel, ''

The Sheltering Sky ''The Sheltering Sky'' is a 1949 novel of alienation and existential despair by American writer and composer Paul Bowles. Plot The story centers on Port Moresby and his wife Kit, a married couple originally from New York who travel to the Nor ...

''.

Partial bibliography

* Vieuchange, Michel. ''Smara: Forbidden City''.

932 Year 932 ( CMXXXII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Summer – Alberic II leads an uprising at Rome against his stepfather Hugh of Provence ...

New York: W. W. Norton & Co. Reprinted edition (1988). * Vieuchange, Michel; Claudel, Paul (preface). ''Chez les dissidents du Sud marocain et du Rio de Oro''. Paris: Plon (1932). * Vieuchange, Michel; Claudel, Paul (preface). ''Smara: Carnets de route d'un fou du désert''. Paris:

Éditions Phébus The éditions Phébus is a French publishing house established in 1976 by Jean-Pierre Sicre and taken over in 2003 by the . Catalogue Phébus publishes a catalog of French and foreign literature that is both contemporary (Julie Otsuka, Elif Sha ...

(Revised edition: 2004). {{DEFAULTSORT:Vieuchange, Michel 1904 births 1930 deaths People from Nevers French explorers Deaths from dysentery