It has just been reported that the Malian and French army force has taken back nearly every city once sieged by the Islamist rebels, including Timbuktu. However it absolutely breaks our hearts to hear that before fleeing, rebels burned down the Ahmed Baba Institute which was home to thousands of important, ancient manuscripts. The Ahmed [...]
The rebellion in Mali wages on. The French are now involved and the rebels are a mere 50 miles from the town of Segou where we once lived. It’s shocking, saddening, and frightening. Our hearts go out to our friends in Mali. The Washington Post just published a great article: 9 Questions About Mali You [...]
Stumped as to what to get your world traveling friend? Stumped as to what to get your arm-chair traveling friend? GET THEM TO TIMBUKTU! Then shoot us an email with your mailing address and we’ll send you a book plate (fancy word for sticker that we sign and draw on) that you can slap in [...]
My alma mater, Pitzer College, has had the most Fulbright grant recipients (per capita) of any college in the U.S. for eight years in a row now. When I graduated in 2006 and was awarded a Fulbright to conduct my research in Mali which then lead to To Timbuktu, I was one of 14 students (out of [...]
When we lived in Mali we met fellow Fulbrighter Alexandra Huddleston who had been living in Timbuktu for ten months, working on a photography project called 333 Saints: Life and Scholarship in Timbuktu, Mali. We were wildly impressed by her ability to delve so deep into local life for so long (ten months! alone! in [...]
We put together a bookshelf for 20SomethingReads of 20 books to inspire your summer travel and post-graduation plans. Check it out (and many more themed bookshelves from them) here. .
Life is tough in Timbuktu, but it’s been especially grueling recently. This April, rebels captured the historic town while the rest of the country was focused on the chaos of a military coup in the capital, Bamako. An Al Queda supported group called Ansar Dine (meaning Defenders of the Faith) has taken control and is [...]
Big thanks to JMU for having us down to Virginia for a rockin’ few days last week! A definite highlight was our Image & Text Workshop with visual arts and creative writing students who came together to collaborate on illustrated travel pieces. Look at ‘em go! A very cool bunch who deserve extra points for [...]
People are always searching for authenticity—in art, in food, in music, in their relationships, and especially in travel. Today the NY Times ran an article by Holland Cotter about a remote region of Mali called Dogon Country: “In Mali, Art as Real as Life Itself”. It’s an ode to authenticity in art and travel, but [...]
On the morning of March 21st, we woke up to the horrifying news that senior officers in the Malian army seized power in a coup. This morning we woke up to even more sad news: Timbuktu fell to Tuareg rebels in the north. The coup was shocking because for the past 20 years Mali has [...]
