Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Talk of Slaves

Imagine the surprise when walking through the city with a local guide discussion turns to slaves.

The dwelling you see in the first picture were referred to as the home of "slaves of the Tuareg". Former? Well, an evasive answer seems to indicate that while slavery per se may not be openly active, most definitely a stronge caste-like cultural system is still prevalent.

In reality, though, while codified it's not altogether differnet than that in many supposedly "enlightened" countries of the west.

The last picks are just a few blocks further down our rambling walk: the "main square" in front of one of the mosques.


No comments:

Post a Comment

Biography

An inveterate traveler, who has explored all seven continents, Neil centres his freelance writing today on travel.
Published work includes travel writing in The Globe and Mail, The Toronto Star, The Buffalo News, Travel Scoop and The Wonderful World of Budget Travel. Featured destinations include: Toronto, Ontario; Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario; Amsterdam, Netherlands; Qufu, China; Oaxaca, Mexico; Jersey, Channel Islands; Trans-Siberian Express.
Neil’s photography focuses on finding images of the worlds he visits that capture the essence of “place”. Whether photographing landscapes, archaeological sites or locals, the goal is to make a picture emotive of what brought one there.
Photography has been published in Camera Canada, Foto Flash, Minolta Mirror and travel publications, as well as displayed at gallery exhibits in Toronto.