March7 Mali

These are pictures that someone else took in Mali and has shared with me. The young lady is cooking n'sema which I saw a lot of and ate a lot of in Malawi and in Zambia. I have not seen any here in Bamako. It may be more common in the villages. All the other pictures are of the area in and around Timbuctu. I would have liked to go there just to say that I had done it but It is about a thousand mile trek from Bamako. I could fly if I wasn't so cheap. Oh yes. Timbuctu is up closer to the Sahara so the climate is more arid. There used to be a river running through Timbuctu but it shifted so only the river sand remains. Timbuctu was an important center of learning and trade back in the 14th century. Morocco captured that territory in the late 16th century and held it until France took over in the early 1900's. Malian history fills in blank spaces for me when I have nothing new to report. Next week I will report on the retreat that we will have at Mana.