Notes

Like I said we would in my last diary entry, we traveled to Taghaza. The month of February has now gone by, and it is now March. As everyone starts to set up a place to stay for the night, I listen to the conversations going on among others around me, because they all sound a little upset. “Couldn’t we have gone across the Sahara a different way!?” I hear a man say, “Why did Mansa Musa have to choose this up north!?” I think about this for a moment. I hadn’t thought of that. But picturing it in my mind, I think that man is correct, there was definitely different ways to travel across the desert. But when I think about it more, on thought comes to my head--it’s that there’s nothing any of us could do about it, as we just have to go in the direction that Mansa Musa goes.
Getting rid of those thoughts, I look around at the environment. All I see is salt, sand, camel skin, and the slaves of the Masufa. There is a large salt mine, and the houses and mosques are all made of salt. The roofs have some camel skin on them, and I suppose that the houses and mosques are for the slaves living here. I know that those slaves are forced to dig for salt, as that’s the only reasonable reason why, and I think I heard someone else on the hajj saying so. I also heard that these people live by eating dates that come from Morocco, and by eating the meat of camels. Again, they use the animal's skin to cover up their houses, so it acts like a roof.
Anyways, let me get back to the salt before I run out of time and have to start helping the others. I am amazed at the amount of salt I see all around me. Back home, a friend of mine named Nia told me that the salt here is found in gigantic slabs, and they are all on top of one another underground in this area. That’s why this location is a popular salt mine--there’s tons of salt(literally!). Let me tell you how salt was used, so that I can refer back to this diary if I ever forget(I don’t know why I would, though). People from Sudan come with their gold to trade it for salt. I learned that one “load” of salt is traded for 30 to 20 mithqals of gold. Also, the people of Sudan use salt for currency exactly like the way they used gold and silver for currency. As I said, the salt came in slabs, so when it was used for the currency they cut it into pieces. In fact, since most places don’t have much salt, and Taghaza has tons of it, Taghaza ends up trading amounts of it for gold. This causes Taghaza to have tons and tons of gold(again, literally!).
I almost have to go, so let me finish up. Although the trip up here wasn’t exactly the best, at least there’s water here. Well, salty water. Even the water has salt in it! But, I guess it’s okay, as it’ll still keep us hydrated.
I have learned so much about this place, even though it might not be the most exciting place. I just know that I will continue to learn more as the hajj moves on. After all, it’s almost April, my favorite month of the year. Read my next diary entry to know why!