The Festival in the Desert was my original goal and inspired me to travel to Mali. The festival has had a difficult time. This video explains the situation.

Yes, I have now been to Tombouctou — the French way to spell it. Our tour guide was very informative about the history, and the current state of the libraries in the town. Turns out he is part of this video!

which of course leads me to other videos on You Tube and lots of memories. The places in the films (including the burnt out tank) are places we saw this January in Mali.

We stood in the library. History always speaks to me, and that library was like a “Mecca” — yes, I know the wordplay there!