Mali, West Africa
Mali facts & history in
brief 
Tombouctou facts
& history in brief
I am getting a bit corny, - repeating, - that
no one said it was going to be easy to get to Tombouctou,
- by the way this is the most common local spelling
of Timbuctu, so I'll stick with it, after all I've checked
it out at the source, that gives me the power and the
authority. Who ever I'm thinking that I'm? Well at least
I've been there and came back, that's what my T-shirt
says, anyway. (This dialogue getting cornier by every
sentence.)
For all our troubles and tribulations, - not to mention
the cost of getting to Tombouctou, - you can check out
the my Mali page.
Tombouctou has cost us a lot of money, time and stress,
but Hui Chin and I will never ever forget the experience.
The city itself turned out to be nothing what we have
seen in pictures, read about or imagined.
First of all the River Niger shifted out of the town
about twenty years ago, - so the story goes, - leaving
a large dusty depression between our
hotel and the township.
The town itself is slowly being engulfed by sand, dust
and the surrounding desert.
Once upon a time used to have a university, now it has a
parliament.
The people, especially the 'blue people' (Tuareg)
as our guide called them,
always dress in blue and look very colourful.
The towns long history as a trading outpost
below the Sahara Desert with Berber and Islamic
traders throughout north Africa, declined centuries
ago but left it with a fabled status and this
combined with its relative inaccessibility,
"Timbuktu" has come to be a metaphor
for exotic, distant lands.
That relative inaccessibility cost us dearly,
as I have mentioned before and on the other pages.
We enjoyed our stay in Tombouctou, even after being cheated
by our agent and also the Camel owners.
After our landing at Bamako Airport
we found out that they issue Visas at the Airport on
arrival.
Hama, our agent emphatically stated that the law was
changed a few years ago to issue Visas on arrival, now
you know as much as I do.
If we knew that, it could have saved us a lot of time
and money.
List of photo
pages in my Mali series.
Bamako
Hotel La Chaumiere
Mali
Art Mali
Desert People
of Mali Mali
Trains
Mopti
Segou
Timbuctu or
Tombouctou
Some of my photos
taken in Mali (Click for an enlargement)
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| Our
Hotel's entrance |
Tombouctou |
Tombouctou |
He is
not worried about Petrol prices |
Some
of the town's 'blue' (Tuareg) people |
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| Tombouctou |
Tombouctou |
Tombouctou |
Tombouctou |
Tombouctou |
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| Tombouctou |
Tombouctou |
Tombouctou |
One
of the famous doors |
The
fabled Mosque |
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| Tombouctou |
Tombouctou |
Tombouctou |
Tombouctou |
I like
his hat |
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| The
executed French explorer's place |
The
Mosque |
Tombouctou |
Tombouctou |
More
doors |
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| Bike
repairer |
Tombouctou |
Tombouctou |
Camels
at rest |
The
'deserted' riverbed |
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| Tombouctou |
Tombouctou |
Tombouctou |
Some
'green' people? |
Tombouctou |
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| Tombouctou |
Tombouctou |
Tombouctou |
Red
bird of Tombouctou |
Tombouctou |
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| Tombouctou |
Tombouctou |
Tombouctou |
Tombouctou |
Tombouctou |
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| Tombouctou |
Tombouctou |
Tombouctou |
Tombouctou |
Tombouctou |
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| Tombouctou
internet |
Tombouctou |
Tombouctou |
Tombouctou |
Tombouctou
Parliament |
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| Tombouctou |
Tombouctou |
Tombouctou |
Tombouctou |
Tombouctou |
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