Timbuktu
Timbuktu, Mali
The famous city of Timbuktu epitomizes West Africa in many ways. As the
cliché about this city suggests, there is nothing for miles in any
direction, and there's nothing in the city either, except for a mosque,
some stores, and the odd hotel that invariably pops up in anticipation
of a tourist influx that never arrives. Historically, Timbuktu was
the meeting point for spice traders traveling between the interior of
Africa and the seaports to the South. This central location gave the
city the potential to become an economically sound stronghold. Rumors
even held that it was a city with emerald towers and roads paved in gold.
However, the vast distance between Timbuktu and more politically stable
cities made it a lawless and unmanageable outpost in the desert, where
thieves controlled commerce and defined the city's culture. In fact,
the place was so harsh and unruly, it wasn't until the 20th century that
the first American and British explorers were able to enter the fabled
city and leave alive.
Despite the changes that Timbuktu has seen over the centuries, the one
thing that still remains is the city's namesake: the water well where
traders met to exchange goods and discuss business. In fact, Timbuktu's
rough translation is, "the well owned by the lady with the (fantastic)
belly button." The people who live there now, like this child, are part
of a community that have shared the city for thousands of years: Tuaregs
(nomads, living in the desert), farmers (who harvest near wet-season
oases), and indentured servants (slaves) who work in the salt mines to
the North.
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