Timbuktu, Mali

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Timbuktu town - 5/1/2011 and 6/1/2011

We had one day in Timbuktu to look around and the following day we headed out to the festival for the next 3-4 days.

Timbuktu is the name of a town in Mali (and it really exists - we have t-shirts to prove it!!!) but as well Timbuktu is also the largest region of Mali stretching from the Niger Bend to the northern frontiers of the Malian Sahara. Virtually all the human activity takes place in the vicinity of the River Niger, where Timbuktu and Dire are two of the major towns. The only other permanent settlement is a further 400km across vast plains, dunes and shifting 'sand seas' - at the Taoudenni salt mines.

A visit to the Post Office to have a post card sent back home stamped "Timbuktu" is a must as well as having your passport stamped Timbuktu - for a price - obviously!!!!

A tour of the town takes in several mosques, houses of famous explorers and scholars, museums, etc and the town is declared a National Heritage Site.

The workshop of Diam Tende still produces traditional doors, windows and other furniture - many of the houses in the town have doors and windows from this workshop which opens onto the street and you can watch the doors being made and the tin decorations being cut (with oversized dressmaking type scissors) and punched out.

An interesting place to visit was the Instit de Hautes Etudes et des Researches Islamique Ahmed Baba - this institution was inaugurated in 1973 to systematically collect and conserve the 20,000-30,000 rare and precious manuscripts in northern Mali. It is an amazing collection and covers manuscripts in the fields of Islamology, history, anthroposociology, Arab-African literature and medicine. The institute already receives many PhD students from abroad - the oldest manuscript is one from AD124. The staff are very happy to share their history and show off the very old documents - this building also houses an internet cafe.....very slow internet connection so there is a lot of time to trade travelling stories with others waiting to connect to the all-important e-mail website for news from home.

The Flame of Peace is a much photographed statue in town and is very symbolic to the Timbuktu area. On March 27, 1996, a symbolic ceremony took place marking the end of the Tuareg rebellios. On this day in an open square in the northern quarter, 10,000 peole watched as 3,000 weapons belonging to the Tuareg rebels and Malian Army were burnt in what was dubbed the "Flame of Peace." The monument looks a bit disappointing but on closer inspection the metal, skeleton-like remains of the burnt weapons - imbedded in cement - do leave an impression.

So, we spent the day wandering around the town followed by several souvenier sellers who never gave up trying to sell you something. The atmosphere of the town had moved up a notch with the constant arrival of tourists, artists and musicians and special guests in town for the Festival of the Desert. We were able to watch the activity in the street from the balcony of our hotel without being harrassed to buy something.....but it all added to the atmosphere.

We also had a trip to Hamma's local tailor to have some traditional clothing made for the wedding that was to take place during the festival....more about that later.

Before leaving for the festival the next day we were invited to lunch at Aly's new hotel- which is fabulous - it has been well thought out with 3 hotel rooms (more to come) and sleeping and toilet/showers areas on the roof (Aly Dicko is a local who has been in the travel industry for some time and now has his own hotel and travel company - www.malimysteryexperditions.com - or [e-mail]) where we met fellow travellers who would share our camp and festival experience.

After a tour of his new place (which was only opened the day before) we were treated to a traditional lunch - but many of us, including me, we were anxious to get out to the festival site........but, when in Africa and on African time - things eventually happen and when our transport to the festival site arrived, I made sure that I was in the first vehicle leaving for the festival site....you could say that I pushed people out of the way running to get a seat in one of the cars........but this is what we had been waiting for and our time in Mali was nothing but a build-up to the FESTIVAL!!!!!!

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Photos

Typical ornate window decorations in Timbuktu.
check out the thickness of the walls.....

Michael getting a hair cut in yet another country
This time he had time to get a hair cut while we waited for lunch to be served......remember, we are on African time......Michael says he was getting "coffuuurrrreeeeddddd".......whatever, he supposedly had the best hair stylist in Timbuktu - assured by our guide - Hamar....

Comments

[Judy Aitken]

Timbuktu
Always wanted to go to Timbuktu lucky girl, I have trouble deleting your blogs they are like having the adventure without leaving home.