It’s a valid question I receive when I tell others I’m going to Mali. In light of this, I thought I would give you all a better setting, so you have an idea of where my stories will take place.
First of all, imagine the most underdeveloped country you’ve ever been too. The one where you may have seen children walking barefoot, shantytowns on the side of the road, and old beggars pleading for a coin. Mali is on an entirely different level. Poorer than all but 8 countries in the world, you don’t however feel the vulgar poverty there you may experience in inner-city slums. Instead you feel a sense of magic…and claustrophobia. You feel stuck in the times.
It is not very hard to imagine that you are walking around in Bibilical times dodging shepherds and their rambunctious herds of livestock bolting through narrow pathways, watching long and lanky passerby dressed in layers of fabric walking through a sandcastle-like surreal setting, halfway expecting Jesus himself to appear around the corner.
Me in sandcastle city in 2004- Djenne, Mali
Mom striking a pose, modeling attire in Mali. 2004
Many of you may be surprised to know that Mali is considered a “must-see” country in the backpacking adventure traveler world and also according to the Lonely Planet West Africa guidebook. It’s most famous tourist destinations are all UNESCO world heritage sites), Timbuktu, Djenne, and Dogon country and are pictured below.
Niger River
The road to Timbuktu (www.bbs.co.uk)
Djenne – Largest mud mosque in the world
Dogon Country – Land of the mystical villages tucked away in cliffs with beautifully engraved doors and masks, claiming to learn all their mysterious knowledge from aliens who came down on spaceships hundreds of years ago.
Yeah that’s right…aliens. Jealous yet? 🙂
8 responses to “Who’s Molly?”
haniaski
July 10th, 2008 at 18:40
VERY JEALOUS ! ! !
Kate
July 11th, 2008 at 03:15
I knew I accrued all those miles on Ethiopian Airlines for a reason. So jealous.
iamkash
July 11th, 2008 at 15:07
Yay, come visit y’all!
renatamic
July 11th, 2008 at 19:11
best of luck in Molly 🙂 I’m excited your website is up and running.
Nap Warden
July 11th, 2008 at 20:23
Wow…sounds like quite an experience…I’ll be reading!
ohmommy
July 12th, 2008 at 18:25
Yup, my kiddos asked who was Molly when I told them. They think you are going to visit a baby named Molly in Africa.
iamkash
July 13th, 2008 at 13:38
ohmommy, that is hysterical.
Dziadek
July 14th, 2008 at 21:02
A gdzie moje zdjecie