Photographer's Note
Today's three photos are not among the best I have posted here. I decided to show them anyway because they may give you an idea of life in the legendary city of Timbuktu in the early 1980's, away from the memories of the city's glorious past (of which there were very few left).
There was running water in Timbuktu, at least in parts of the city, including usually in the municipal hostel where I spent a few nights. Here and there in small squares I saw public wells where people would come with their buckets to draw water.
And I also saw this pool, which may once have been filled to a much higher level, but which in 1982 had dwindled to this sad pond of stagnant and clearly not very clean water.
It looks like the woman was doing her laundry here. Or maybe she was washing her dishes. Whatever the case, it looks very unsuitable and unhealthy.
More daily chores in Timbuktu can be seen in the WS. All photos were scanned from Kodachrome slides.
Fis2, ikeharel, Royaldevon, pierrefonds, jhm, PaulVDV, jean113, tyro, tyro, PiotrF, ricardomattos, adramad, mcmtanyel marcou esta nota como útil
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ifege
![Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 3877 W: 102 N: 11228]](http://i1.trekearth.com/misc/g-g-g.gif){kind=small}
(46891) 2020-06-22 0:24
Hi Gert
They may not be your best but make for it with a look at life in Timbuktu.
cheers
Ian
Fis2
(169679) 2020-06-22 0:35
Witaj Gert!
Another excellent report.
A very interesting place, curious scene from daily life.
I like houses and walls.
Good framing, colors and light.
Well done.
Have a good new week.
Krzysztof
pajaran
(114867) 2020-06-22 1:12
Pozdrav.
Lep pogled, dobar tekst ...
Interesantno mesto i arhitektuira.
Dobar rad skeniranjem slajda, lepo pokazano, dobro uhvacen trenutak. Lepa fotografija i secanje.
Zelim vam lep dan, sve najbolje u novoj nedelji koja je pocela.
Paja.
Greeting.
Nice view, good text ...
Interesting place and architecture.
Good work by scanning the slide, nicely shown, well captured moment. Beautiful photo and memory.
I wish you a nice day, all the best in the new week that has begun.
Royaldevon
(85606) 2020-06-22 3:16
Hello Gert,
Three photographs which have made a great impression on me about the importance of water.
The place certainly holds little in the way of grandeur but seems a very arid location.
You have very clearly shown the steep incline to a very small, dirty pool of water, where washing is undertaken. Was there a separate supply for drinking?
The neat little veg garden looks to be needy for water too. It must be hard work. I know how often I had to water my garden during April and May and I had a nearby water supply!
Life looks hard for the people in Timbuktu!
Have a good day,
Bev :-)
pierrefonds
(113552) 2020-06-22 4:35
Hi Gert,
You have captured well the action of the person. The point of view is showing the details of this area of Timbuktu. The light is enhancing the colours. Have a nice day.
Pierre
Silvio1953
(220553) 2020-06-22 4:55
Ciao Gert, great view of fantastic place, wonderful natural colors, fine details, splendid light and excellent clarity, very well done, my friend, ciao Silvio
jhm
(211734) 2020-06-22 6:18
Hello Gert,
You chose an excellent angle
We see the Lake and woman perfect.
It is a wonder that no more diseases, break out there, with dangerous water.
Nice composition and sharp and clear.
Very well done, TFS.
Best regards,
John.
ChrisJ
(171194) 2020-06-22 6:28
Hi Gert
It's amazing that people in the late 20th century were still washing their clothes in such brackish, unclean water. The soap and phosphates have caused algal blooms. A good downward pov and a nice glimpse of the bg city. Tfs!
rychem
![Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 4451 W: 0 N: 10641]](http://i1.trekearth.com/misc/g-n-g.gif){kind=small}
(72187) 2020-06-22 6:48
It is a good illustration of the global lack of water, The water on Earth is salty or not enough in some regions, and this is just the situation showing how important clean water is
a very good picture
regards Ryszard
jmdias
(114240) 2020-06-22 9:30
gert
the water in the main post is nice only for the plants, I presume it was almost venomous because the quantity of bad microbial inside. amazing the way they cultivate the kitchen gardens and the woman in the street probably was cleaning the cereals from the straw using the wind. marvelous these three images with so many information about the famous & unknown city.
take care
jorge
Miguel82
(47110) 2020-06-22 10:24
Gert, the water is vital in Tombouctou, a city located in the Sahara desert outskirts. The water table provides most of the precious resource whereas the rain is rare all over the year. This city reservoir was almost dried in this season. The stagnant water colonized by green algas can t be drinked, at least it used for dish washing or laundry. The workshops present authentic slices of life. Fine colors, good sharpness, regards.
GyurMaster
(24668) 2020-06-22 11:20
Dear Gert,
Just like me, you chose a photo to be the main upload, which would have been set aside by others. You did it right! Its a good reportage of the everyday life back in those days in Timbuktu. All the three photos, indeed!
Have a nice evening!
Gy
Tue
(91536) 2020-06-22 11:49
Hej Gert,
Det er utroligt at folk må bruge så dårlig en kilde, men jeg er bange for at det stadig i tilfældet i mange lande. Det er svært at forstille at vasketøjet bliver meget renere ved at vaske det her. I hvert fald giver billedet et godt indtryk af dagligdagen og den vertikale komposition var et godt valg.
Lars
kasianowak
(17672) 2020-06-22 11:56
Hi Gert
What an amazing series of daily life photos from this once "iconic" travel destination. Indeed, far from anything glorious but the images are wonderful and truly timeless. Sorry to sound like a broken record but the WS shots, at least the street photo of the woman with the bucket of grains mixed with chaffs are so good that I feel sorry they have been relegated to WS. But then at least I was give a chance to see them.
If life was that difficult in the 80s I can only imagine what it is now. :-(
Great reportage from Timbuktu.
Best wishes
Kasia
PaulVDV
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(62796) 2020-06-22 12:05
Hello Gert,
Whatever the woman was washing, clothes or the dishes, I'm afraid it could only get more dirty there.
The picture makes us face the fact how pitiful living conditions can be.
All three photos are very interesting testimonials from daily life in Timbuktu.
The vegetable garden looks very interesting, in terms of photography I mean. Unfortunately, it was still the time of the photos and slides ... and there had to be saved on, considering the cost. Otherwise you could have experimented a bit with the many earthen walls around the vegetables.
Best regards, Paul
jean113
(27633) 2020-06-22 13:28
Hello Gert, three more fascinating pictures.
Here there are walls, which I presume would normally surround a deep pool of water. The remaining water looks as if it is stagnant; and there is nowhere for any dirty water to run away!
The workshop picture of the garden/allotment is equally interesting, the plants looking so green in a very dry looking soil.
Excellent quality scans.
Kind regards, Jean.
tyro
(30513) 2020-06-22 13:51
Hello Gert,
Three excellent Kodachrome scans of three very good slides from parts of this city which do not, unfortunately, have quite the appeal of other places which you have recently shown us.
Your main photograph is very impressive but what impresses us is the stagnant pond whose filthy water some poor woman is using to wash either her clothes or her cooking utensils: and the area around about her is barren and lifeless save for a few scrawny trees higher up.
The wide street in which another lady is separating the chaff from her grain looks equally exposed and bare and I can imagine that the man carrying water to his meagre crops must struggle to feed himself and his family from what he can eke out of this rather barren looking earth.
Excellent photographs and a fascinating note.
Excellent!
Kind Regards,
John.
emka
(157280) 2020-06-22 14:13
Hello Gert, The workshop pictures seem nicer, more colourful, but it is very interesting. It looks as if this was earlier a big well but the level of water was very low when you were there. I wonder what was the cause of it. Here the water looks very dirty and not suitable for use for any washing. when we have always water in taps we do not imagine how it is to live without running water, or even worse, without any water nearby
Very interesting houses, look like made from bricks from mud, quite regular in shape.
Best regards MAlgo
PiotrF
(54246) 2020-06-22 14:34
Hello Gert
An interesting series of photos from Timbuktu. Not the best quality? but very good documentary coverage of this city from many years ago.
Fine presentation
Regards
Piotr
lousat
(138585) 2020-06-22 15:36
Hi Gert,3 beautiful memories another,very precious because showing this famous city in rare and old pics. Useful 2 WS but the main is a masterwork for me,the pic is enough to understand in fact how the water were the symbol of unsuitable and unhealthy city,but i like a lot the view on the top. Have a nice day and thanks,Luciano
ricardomattos
(17396) 2020-06-23 16:11
Olá Gert,
Um registro bem interessante desta cidade que mostra a escassez de água e a necessidade humana. Excelente ponto de vista e enquadramento.
Parabens
Ricardo
ikeharel
(112397) 2020-06-25 1:33
Water is a great issue even until nowadays, in many parts of our world, gert.
You mentioned there were running water in this remote town, but still most people depends on rain and underground water for their daily life matters.
Excellent scan, as always.
My best regards,
Ike
adramad
(72536) 2020-06-28 11:19
Hi Gert.
Everything looks very dry and very poor, the images give me more the idea of a small town than a city, the image of the woman in those dirty waters is worrying, both if she washes clothes and if she washes dishes, the magnificent photos give very well a vision of the place.
The color and light management are magnificent, highlighting the sharpness of the image.
Very well done. I like it
May you enjoy the end of Sunday.
Very best regards.
Luis.
foxy
(3427) 2020-06-29 12:06
Hello Gert,
I don't know how you felt then seeing all this in real life the conditions the people lived. The hardship they have to endure and the conflictions of this country.
To be honest, I've very very little knowledge of Mali or Africa on the whole. I do hope that the people have a better life now at least.
Seeing all this ... I should be appreciate more about life - what I have or don't have.
I also appreciate your effort for scanning this old photos for us to see. Even some of the photos are over-exposed but still maintain its sharpness.
Tfs, Loong
mcmtanyel
(67611) 2021-10-13 19:25
Hello Gert,
It it were dishes she were doing, I'd rather sand-clean the dishes than put them in this water. I can't see how laundry would get cleaner in this water. I wonder if the conditions have improved in the last 40 years.
Regards,
MT
Photo Information
-
Copyright: Gert Holmertz (holmertz)
![Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 12410 W: 572 N: 23828]](//i1.trekearth.com/misc/g-g-g.gif)
(101956) - Genre: Lugares
- Medium: Cor
- Date Taken: 1982-02-00
- Versão da Foto: Versão Original, Workshop
- Date Submitted: 2020-06-22 0:14
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by holmertz, last updated 2020-06-22 03:51
