Return to Timbuktu

A STORY OF SAND, WIND AND PERFUMES

 

Timbuktu Brent Stirton4

1. THE DESERT WIND

  Silence is a tangible presence in the Sahara. The breath of the wind, rather than ruining it, emphasises it, and like the distant noise of an oncoming vehicle it brings our attention to its strange distinctness. In the desert, wind is…
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2. WINDMILLS

The mill was probably the first manmade robot. It works tirelessly for humankind, transforming wheat into flour, pumping underground water, giving cities light. Some countries were built and exist thanks only to the work of these windmills,…
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3. BACK TO TIMBUKTU

I left Italy during a snow storm.  The weather was so bad that the flight had to be postponed for one day.  I like trips that start problematically, I know from experience that it's a good sign.   I land in Bamako, the city of mangoes.…
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4. THE GARDEN OF THE AMERICANS

  Two years ago, when I came to Timbuktu for the first time, I heard about a garden in the desert that American missionaries had made, 10 km from the city, irrigating the sand with the groundwater pulled up with wind pumps. Their…
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5. THE ORCHARDS OF TIMBUKTU

The canal of Khaddafi   Since the suburbs of the city are not the right place for my project, I thought of the gardens that supply the city with fresh vegetables. Water is a big problem for the population of gardeners, even if it is…
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6. TAHARA’S HOSPITAL

    After having met with four different well builders everything is on hold. Not one of them inspire me with confidence. I don't know what to do anymore, I don't have a well builder and cannot find a place to construct a well.  I…
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7. THE WIND RIDER

For someone whose grandparents are among the nation’s elite, having  attended the best schools in the country and having more money than their competitors for the campaign, it is not that difficult to become president of the United States.…
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8. THE KING OF THE TUAREGS

  The surroundings of the well, 15 km north of Timbuktu   I visited Bir Amin, the dry Tuareg well that I repaired two years ago.  We descended the well 30 meters deep to check its condition and there is still a lot of water.   By…
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9. THE POLICE OF TIMBUKTU

  Two policemen in civilian clothes stormed into my hotel at nine, which was very early for the local police. One of them knocked at my door like a madman but without saying, "Police, open the door!" the way they do in films. His failure…
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10. THE PEOPLE OF BOKIAT

  I am on probation, without a passport, I cannot leave the city or the country. I can't go home and I don't know what the police are preparing behind my back. They never said anything to me. The sick continue to wait for me on the street…
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11. THE GARDEN OF THE FRENCH

The French have always been a populace of idealists. Even today, they work to redress the injustices of society. And the French love women ... They therefore decided to revolutionize the society of others, to give African women economic independence…
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12. THE COURT OF TIMBUKTU

The court of Timbuktu After waiting for a week without any news, the police came unannounced at 10 am one morning to pick me up from my hotel and I found myself in court to undergo trial. At least here justice moves fast, not like in Italy. I…
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13. THE MANUSCRIPTS OF TIMBUKTU

The legendary manuscripts of the city of Timbuktu really do exist. These priceless treasures of knowledge which date from the 16th to the 18th centuries, represent the work of the era's leading thinkers, and are classified as a "patrimony of…
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14.THE HOSPITAL OF THE POOR

  The police gave me back all my medical equipment. I showed my acupuncture diploma to the commissioner and notified him of my intention to continue treating the people who come to me for help. Tahara lent me a tent and one of her…
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15. WIND TURBINE OASIS

The wind turbine I ordered from France before leaving for Timbuktu arrived in Bamako. One month late. I must therefore leave my sick and go to the capital immediately to clear the material through customs and organise its transport to Timbuktu. 600…
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16. DOCTOR BAGAYAKO

I ran out of acupuncture needles in Timbuktu. Tahara's uncle, the MP, offered me a few boxes that he had bought from his acupuncturist in Bamako. So I visited him during my trip to clear the wind turbine through customs. He is not Chinese!…
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17. THE LANDS OF BOKIAT

  The land in Bokiat does not belong to the people who live there. Everything belongs to the municipality and will remain so until the municipality divides the land into plots to sell to its inhabitants. In the meantime, they are only…
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18. THE PERFUME HOSPITAL

  With the month of March, the season of the sand winds has arrived   Sometimes you can't see anything more than 3 metres away as if it were in an all-red pea souper fog. But it's not just sand. It is the dust of the city,…
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19. THE POOL OF TIMBUKTU

  Timbuktu’s swimming pool It is really hot in Timbuktu in March. My job healing people is psychologically exhausting. I have no respite from the morning when I start until the afternoon when I stop. I couldn't have lasted so long…
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20. AROMATERAPY IN TIMBUKTU. HEMORRHOIDS AND HEADACHE

The street of the perfume hospital in a day of sand wind   Patients waiting outside the perfume hospital Doctors have always observed strange epidemics of non-contagious diseases, such as epidemics of arthrosis or ulcers. Cosmo-geological…
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21. Aromaterapy in Timbuktu: ringworms and other

Ringworm is a disease that affects children. It makes them suffer a lot, the itching is so strong that they scratch their heads until they bleed, the sores spread and the pain prevents them from sleeping at night. Ringworm makes children's…
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22. Aromaterapy in Timbuktu: the earache

Earache is so widespread in Timbuktu that I had it after a month. It must be the desert wind that carries the poisoned dust from the roads into people's ears. Fortunately, I had already gained experience treating the population before this happened…
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23. Aromaterapy in Timbuktu: the toothache

Five months of antibiotic treatments When he came to see me, Ibrahim had been like this for five months. One of the most frequent problems for which the people of Timbuktu came to me for treatment is toothache. It seems like a minor…