ENTRY #1

We continued our hajj today. It was tiring to walk through the land despite all the supplies we brought with us. I felt dehydrated no matter how much water I gulped down. The pilgrimage was rather boring. The only scenic sight on our journey was seeing the thousands of people walking in a line across the land. The line seemed to be endless, it must have stretched to the sun.

I would say there were more than 60,000 people in that line, it was truly an amazing sight. Other than this sight, the monotony of the day was only broken during my breaks to write in this journal. Meanwhile, the slaves worked tirelessly. There were more than 12,000 of them working just for Mansa Musa. Around 500 of them had to carry the gold. I truly felt bad for these slaves.

The gold was very heavy, and I heard the king saying that we were bringing 24,000 pounds of gold with us on this journey! I know the camels carry a large part of this, but still, that is a lot of gold for the camels and slaves to carry. It has been about 20 hours since we have left Mali. We will have to pause soon, so the camels can rest and so we can get some sleep. I will update my journal again in a few days.

ENTRY #2

I finally got a look at the map today. I am not sure exactly where we are but I am pretty sure we are near Walata. I have been to Timbuktu before, which is east of Walata, and I can vaguely remember going on a similar route to this.

Unfortunately, it takes 20 days to reach Taghaza, our next destination. I do not know much about Taghaza except that it is rich with salt. This makes them popular in trading, and we often trade our gold for their salt. After reaching Taghaza, we will head east towards Egypt. We have to travel across the Nile River which is an exciting prospect. I have heard some stories about the vastness of the Nile River and I am eager to see it for myself.

I have also never been to Egypt before, but I know some traders who have. They say it is a nice place, but it is not as magnificent as Mali. Perhaps it is because of our natural resources such as our gold and copper. I am still eager to take a look at Egypt. From there, we will cross over the Arabian Peninsula, and head south for Mecca.

ENTRY #3

We reached the kingdom of Taghaza today. I was initially excited to explore here but I realized upon entering, that Taghaza was not the best of places to visit. The buildings are made of rock salt and what looks like dirty camel skins.

There seems to be nothing for miles, but sand and salt mines. The only people that live here are slaves that mine for the valued salt. The water is also salty and there are flies everywhere. The mainly accepted currency is salt. We often see traders with camels carrying salt heading south to trade presumably for gold. I am eager to leave this place. Taghaza is, unfortunately, a bitter disappointment. As pleased as I am to be able to leave, I still liked the rest we were able to get. The final test will be the most formidable part of our pilgrimage, when we journey through the desert.

ENTRY #4

When we arrived at Cairo, Mansa Musa gave many gifts to the common people of Egypt. Not only did he want to show his generosity, he also wanted to highlight the immense wealth of Mali.

 He gave out much gold and many other valuable resources to the people. And the king as well. The king and the people were very pleased about this generous donation to their economy.

They started to openly speak to us, asking about our journey and what our homeland was like. As we explained our kingdom’s wealth and luxury, the people were awed. They allowed us to stay and rest for a few days, out of kindness. Egypt was a far nicer place than Taghaza. Furthermore, it was much larger and more majestic, although it was not the same as our homeland, Mali.

Our riches and grandeur are obvious as soon as you enter the kingdom that makes up our home. Egypt was rich, but it was not any close to the magnificence and much power as Mali. I am pleased that our journey across the desert is near completion, and we will certainly be happy to rest for a few days before moving onto the very last stretch in our long journey.