I have infinitely evocative memories of a trip to Timbuktu before the present civil war.
The very notion of Timbuktu is that of an intangible city, fabled in legend, myth and language. It is a place that conjures up long journeys to distant and exotic lands. It carries with it an evocative hint of lost opportunities and of longing for what is missing in our own lives. Some question even whether or not it is real. The ancient city lies deep in the Sahara Desert, relatively inaccessible even in the world of modern travel.
Our journey began badly. Only a few hundred yards from our hotel in Bamako, the capital of Mali, our driver, Ibrahim, seemed odd when we stopped at an intersection. I was horrified to see him snoring loudly with his head drooped over the wheel.
He had been up all night partying, so I insisted on driving. As our convoy headed north into the semi-desert Sahel he slept like a baby in the passenger seat for four hours. It was only when we stopped for lunch under an acacia tree that he revived. In order to help him along, Moussa, another driver, pulled out a goatskin bag containing an ornate teapot that looked like something out of the ‘Arabian Nights’ and a small gas burner. ‘Chai’, he said to me with a cigarette clenched in his teeth, and squatted in the hot sand to brew some mint tea.
‘This could take a while,’ one of my travelling companions muttered. ‘Traditionally, they have to drink three cups. The first is bitter like death, the second bitter-sweet like life and the third sweet like love.’
Moussa and Ibrahim, however, limited themselves to a single cup – of bitter tea, and we got back onto the road. The heat shimmered off the white sand as we drove, while the empty sky was bleached almost white by the sun, and baobab trees stood stark against the horizon.
hamilton wende
Hamilton Wende is an author, journalist and TV producer. He has worked all over the world, covering historical events and some 17 different wars and conflicts. He is based in Johannesburg and travels from there. He has worked for a number of international networks including BBC, CNN, and Al Jazeera. He has also reported on events in South Africa for the last three decades. He has published many articles in newspapers, magazines and websites around the world. He is the author of 9 books. House of War, Only the Dead and The King’s Shilling are thrillers based on his travels around the world as a journalist. His latest book Red Air is based on his experiences filming with the US Marines in Afghanistan. He has a master’s degree in Creative Writing from Wits University.
He is also the author of the popular children’s books: Arabella, the Moon and the Magic Mongongo Nut and Arabella the Secret King and the Amulet from Timbuktu which are set in Johannesburg and Knysna. He is working on the third volume in the series.
