I travelled north yesterday.
A Malian landscape, lush and green by the early rains, passed by my Segou-bound Bittar bus.
Now I am sitting in the garden of l’Idependance Hotel in Segou, waiting for Keita to turn up with Ace and the car journey further north to Djenne. I have spoken to Baba at the hotel. It is the first of July, and the staff are all back again, awaiting our arrival tonight.
What will we find in Djenne? What will the future bring?
As I write this, the Islamists are desecrating the tombs of the saints in Timbuktu. It is against their form of Islam to worship at the tomb of the deceased, and like the iconoclasts of the reformation they are removing what offends their particular belief. These shrines in the ancient city of Timbuktu are protected by Unesco World heritage, just like the city of Djenne. What does this protection mean?