Timbuktu Music Festival?

Mali's Festival in the Desert,

a music and Tuareg culture festival, to be held on 11-13 January 2007, is one-of-a-kind, modeled on traditional gatherings and celebrations of the Tuareg people, the "Blue Men of the Desert."

It is a musical event, drawing musicians from Mali, Mauritania, Niger and other countries.

It is also an opportunity to interact with the Tuareg people, as it is their event, and the festivities will include traditional singing, dancing, swordplay, camel races and artisans' exhibits.

camel race The festival is held in the desert oasis Essakane, 65 kilometers from Timbuktu. Accommodations consist of Tuareg tents and ground mats (NB: there are no hotels); hot meals are prepared on-site. Desert temperatures in January are hot during the day (~35 C / 100 F), but quite cold at night (~5 C / 40 F) — travellers must bring sleeping bags !

This is not a luxury holiday, but a unique cultural experience that requires adapting to local conditions.

For more information on the music and culture Festival in the Desert (based on previous editions

of the Festival in the Desert), see CNN Traveler, Afropop, Boston Phoenix, BBC page or

BBC photos, and SF Chronicle.

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