Niani, January, 1324, Morning
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It is the time of departure from the capital city of Niani towards the town of Walata. I think it shall take approximately 30 days since it has been calculated to be about 700 miles by the great Muhammad, our navigator. Camels are numerous; there must be at least 900 of them if not 1,000. Only 95 camels shall carry gold, though we have about 3,000 pounds of gold. They say it may take 4 months, but I think that it will take a little more.
I see people: soldiers, musicians, royal guards, flag bearers, doctors, and teachers. They are all saying farewell to their families and friends. Many wives and children are crying for their dads to not go, but they are forced to, as there is a big reward for going: fulfilling the need for Hajj for Muslims. There is an aura of dirty camel poop in the air, as the camels have been fed and given water for storage for the trip. They are getting impatient too; many camel riders have been spit in the face because of impatience. This ends my entry for now.
I see people: soldiers, musicians, royal guards, flag bearers, doctors, and teachers. They are all saying farewell to their families and friends. Many wives and children are crying for their dads to not go, but they are forced to, as there is a big reward for going: fulfilling the need for Hajj for Muslims. There is an aura of dirty camel poop in the air, as the camels have been fed and given water for storage for the trip. They are getting impatient too; many camel riders have been spit in the face because of impatience. This ends my entry for now.
Walata, February, 1324, Morning
"Welcome to Walata bwana (sir in Swahili)! What is your name, my friend?" I replied with great amazement and great respect, "Hello rafiki (friend), the name is Khalifa." From that moment, we have been amazed with lots of trading in this small oasis city in the middle of the Sahara. There is lots of trading activity going on: people come from Sudan to trade their gold with the Berbers who have salt. There is rapid trading going along; people seem to make decisions quicker than a sprinting cheetah. The people of Walata are very friendly with us and our gigantic caravan. They are letting us settle in as we are very tired.
Soon, we shall be leaving for the expedition to go to Taghaza. Again, the people of Taghaza are being very helpful. They are giving us supplies (for a price of course) and we are preparing quickly for the trip to Taghaza. The people happen to have lots of gold for trade here, so we may get some more, to give alms and donations to Meccans. All of our people have been rounded up from their relaxation in paradise, and all the camels have been loaded and readied. Mansa Musa wants us to depart in an hour, so we are rushing at full speed to pack up and get ready. For now, I say bye, but I shall come to my journal soon.
Soon, we shall be leaving for the expedition to go to Taghaza. Again, the people of Taghaza are being very helpful. They are giving us supplies (for a price of course) and we are preparing quickly for the trip to Taghaza. The people happen to have lots of gold for trade here, so we may get some more, to give alms and donations to Meccans. All of our people have been rounded up from their relaxation in paradise, and all the camels have been loaded and readied. Mansa Musa wants us to depart in an hour, so we are rushing at full speed to pack up and get ready. For now, I say bye, but I shall come to my journal soon.
Taghaza, March, 1324, Dusk
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After being in Walata, a nice place, you would expect all the cities coming next to be nice. The very next city, though, was a terrible city: Taghaza. We didn't see that coming until about a mile away, where you could smell some disgusting salt. Then, you would see some nastily treated slaves with salt all over them and sweat on their clothing. What does this slave inhabited city do? They dig salt. I am actually quite scared of them, as they are quite string and packed with muscle from carry salt around town, though I am also feeling powerful, as I have much more authority over them than they do over me. I now wish to take the more direct route through Takedda, so we could consume less time and so we could go through civilization, not salt.
I am feeling very rebellious against Mansa Musa and quite angry as I am to sleep into a house made of salt and mud. I would almost sleep in the tents we have when traveling. I shall appeal to the king the next morning and almost beg to go through Takedda on the way back to Niani. There is a chance I may get beheaded as the king too is slightly unhappy. The slaves meanwhile seem to be thoroughly pleased to have seen and met Mansa Musa. Some are predictably infuriated against Mansa Musa, as they are slaves for him. Others just bow down to him and try to become his most helpful person. Obviously, they do this so they could get out of slavery. Anyway, I am feeling tired and shall now go to sleep. Good night journal.
I am feeling very rebellious against Mansa Musa and quite angry as I am to sleep into a house made of salt and mud. I would almost sleep in the tents we have when traveling. I shall appeal to the king the next morning and almost beg to go through Takedda on the way back to Niani. There is a chance I may get beheaded as the king too is slightly unhappy. The slaves meanwhile seem to be thoroughly pleased to have seen and met Mansa Musa. Some are predictably infuriated against Mansa Musa, as they are slaves for him. Others just bow down to him and try to become his most helpful person. Obviously, they do this so they could get out of slavery. Anyway, I am feeling tired and shall now go to sleep. Good night journal.
Tuwat Oasis, April, 1324, Evening
All of us are now tired. You can see fatigue in the sincere smiles people give when they reach new towns. People are starting to get irritated. To calm down, they talk about religion. The main subject is about the hajj. Some people worry for Muslims in Africa, as it is very difficult and tiring to get to Mecca. Other people who aren't Muslim just suggest to not go there and to practice the African religion that doesn't require its followers to go three thousand miles and travel to some place in the middle of the desert. They think that the only reason to go there is to trade their goods. I think that they are correct in saying that going to Mecca is tough, but incorrect because the African religions make you do weird things, such as not crying or showing pain so you can get a cow. I think that I can relate to Muhammad's trip to Medina from Mecca, though I can not understand why we have to go through a similar trip to Medina.
I do look forward to seeing the faces of people from Cairo as they see us entering their city with tons of gold, lots of people, an intimidating king, and many camels. I think that they will look scared, with a bunch of surprise in their eyes, though they may laugh at the camels. But, the camels may spit on their faces of the people of Cairo laugh, so I am not too worried. It may look like we are waging on war though, so we will have to give alms to people and give lots of our gold. It is a good thing that Mansa Musa tool lots of gold with us, as it is said that many people live in Cairo. I may not be loving this journey, but it is definitely interesting. I shall write again in Cairo.
I do look forward to seeing the faces of people from Cairo as they see us entering their city with tons of gold, lots of people, an intimidating king, and many camels. I think that they will look scared, with a bunch of surprise in their eyes, though they may laugh at the camels. But, the camels may spit on their faces of the people of Cairo laugh, so I am not too worried. It may look like we are waging on war though, so we will have to give alms to people and give lots of our gold. It is a good thing that Mansa Musa tool lots of gold with us, as it is said that many people live in Cairo. I may not be loving this journey, but it is definitely interesting. I shall write again in Cairo.
Cairo, July, 1324, Afternoon
It is blazing hot here in Cairo. It is surrounded by desert and has lots of people. Also, we are in the middle of summer right now. The result of that makes it so that the people in our group are sweating so much that the salt in Taghaza may be useful to replenish lost salt. On the plus side, the people look amazed and intimidated, as if they never imagined that a caravan could be such long and could carry such gold. Mansa Musa is predictably giving out his gold to the Cairenes to get their respect and peace. In return, they are asking him to see the sultan, their king, but Mansa Musa says no. He is refusing because he says he doesn't want to get distracted from his pilgrimage, but I suspect that he doesn't want to bow to the sultan.
The people of Cairo are starting to beg to get gold; I am seeing some fights break out on the side streets. Thus, our gold supply is going down. I believe that we must have given at least one half of the gold. The higher ranked Cairenes are getting more gold because of their power. The locals also seem to think we are stupid, as we are giving out gold as if it is just some stones. Soon enough, Mansa Musa will say enough and he may stop giving gold. I have to go now, as I am in need to protect some gold; a big fight may start any second.
The people of Cairo are starting to beg to get gold; I am seeing some fights break out on the side streets. Thus, our gold supply is going down. I believe that we must have given at least one half of the gold. The higher ranked Cairenes are getting more gold because of their power. The locals also seem to think we are stupid, as we are giving out gold as if it is just some stones. Soon enough, Mansa Musa will say enough and he may stop giving gold. I have to go now, as I am in need to protect some gold; a big fight may start any second.
Niani, October, 1375, Evening
We have finally been home for over 50 years. I have found this lost journal when telling a story to my grandson, Muhammad. I have to say, I didn't enjoy the whole trip as it turned out to be tiring and difficult, but coming to Mecca and reaching home felt like a great time had come. It was definitely worth the time, though everyone wished it took less time. The omney should have been less of a necessity, though there was no harm in spending and bringing so much of it. From it, I have felt satisfied my whole life, as I have fulfilled the need to go to Mecca. I may have lost my temper once or twice along the journey, but I felt good the rest of the time. I think my grandson is calling me for mire stories. It is bye for another time, good journal.