| Page Views: 2,383 Last Visit to Timbuktu: January, 2003 | Timbuktu, the forbidden city by F_Meignant - last update: Oct 21, 2003 |
Timbuktu… « La Ville 7 fois sainte »… « la Cité aux toits d’or »… « La Ville aux 333 Saints »…
Nowadays, the mythic city is only a pale shadow of its legend. Already in 1828 when he arrived there, the French René Caillié was a bit disappointed: according to the city’s fame, he was expecting lots of treasures. He just found houses built of earth, a large city surrounded by desert…
Caillié was the first Occidental who reached Timbuktu and came back alive. Several explorers tried to reach the city before him. In 1790, Major Daniel Houghton, recruited by the “African Association”, left Gambia and went East... He died before having reached the Niger River, probably killed by the Moors.
Major Gordon Laing tried another route: he left Tripoli in February 1826. He is the first European who reached Timbuktu. It was in May 1826. But he had to flee the city, which was forbidden to foreigners. He was finally killed by Tuaregs in the desert a few days later.
René Caillié left Guinea in April 1827. He put on a disguise of a Muslim pilgrim and said he was an Egyptian boy, raised by a soldier of Napoleon’s army and taken by him to Senegal… Thanks to his disguise, he could reach Timbuktu in April 1828. But he was very sick and only stayed 13 days in the city. He then joined a caravan, crossed the Sahara and finally reached Morocco, from where he was sent back in France, half dead because of sicknesses and starvation. He never recovered completely, and died in 1838. He was only 39 years old. |
|  | Attending the "Festival au Désert" |
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| Pros: | "Myth and the mosque of Djingereyber." | | Cons: | "Sewage, rubbish..." | | In A Nutshell: | "Dig hard..." |
F_Meignant's Timbuktu Travel Tips
| Overview | Things to Do | | | | Restaurants | Hotels & Accommodations
Tips: 1 - Photos: 1 | | | | Nightlife | Off The Beaten Path | | | Tourist Traps
Tips: 1 - Photos: 1 | Warnings Or Dangers | | | | Transportation | Local Customs | | | | Packing Lists | Shopping | | | | Sports Travel | General Tips |
 F_Meignant's Timbuktu Travelogues | | | |
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 Comments for F_Meignant about Timbuktu | | | | |
caffeine_induced78 Fri Nov 19, 2004 03:50 UTC
Does it make it beckon more when it's so hard to get to? | grets Wed Jun 30, 2004 21:36 UTC
We spent three days on a pinasse from Mopti to Timbuktu - uncomfortable and boring but an almost life-changing experience. Sleeping under the stars at night on the river bank, waking to find a hippo close by.... | cadzand Tue Jan 27, 2004 18:34 UTC
What a pity hassling shop keepers, guides and beggars are all around. Almost sure, it is our' (tourists) own fault.... don't you think so ? | kasparek Sat Jan 17, 2004 10:47 UTC
great pictures! |
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