Post by willi1 on Jul 14, 2018 11:57:01 GMT
In 2006, when Muammar Gaddafi was still the dictator of Libya, he visited the city of Timbuktu in Mali to celebrate the Prophet Muhammad's birthday. He brought hundreds of people to the city to pray with him in a football stadium after he declared himself an imam of the city. Gaddafi usually declared Timbuktu to be his favorite city and talked about his big plans to use his immense wealth to bring him into the best shape possible.
Gaddafi's great interest in Timbuktu remains a source of speculation and confusion. It was said that he believed that there was oil in the desert, that he had a hand in the covert drug trafficking run by al-Qaida from nearby Sahara runways, and admired Mali's Tuareg nomads he wanted to recruit as a mercenary for Libyan Army.
He bought a crumbling and rundown hotel on the outskirts of the city and had it renovated for millions of euros. In order to bring the guests by boat to the hotel, Libyan experts had him build a 10 km long canal to Kabala for over $ 8 billion, which already had access to a tributary of the Niger.
But the enthusiasm of the inhabitants of Timbuktu during the inauguration ceremony of this channel was only facade. And for a good reason.
There was no mass of tourists who wanted to go to the hotel. There was hardly any merchandise.
The channel was unfortunately poorly designed and made bad. Where once the nomads went with their animals through former shallow pools was now a 10 -meter-deep channel with steep and slippery concrete embankments. Whoever got in there did not escape. Bridges had been created only 2, so that caused major detours.
Gaddafi's great interest in Timbuktu remains a source of speculation and confusion. It was said that he believed that there was oil in the desert, that he had a hand in the covert drug trafficking run by al-Qaida from nearby Sahara runways, and admired Mali's Tuareg nomads he wanted to recruit as a mercenary for Libyan Army.
He bought a crumbling and rundown hotel on the outskirts of the city and had it renovated for millions of euros. In order to bring the guests by boat to the hotel, Libyan experts had him build a 10 km long canal to Kabala for over $ 8 billion, which already had access to a tributary of the Niger.
But the enthusiasm of the inhabitants of Timbuktu during the inauguration ceremony of this channel was only facade. And for a good reason.
There was no mass of tourists who wanted to go to the hotel. There was hardly any merchandise.
The channel was unfortunately poorly designed and made bad. Where once the nomads went with their animals through former shallow pools was now a 10 -meter-deep channel with steep and slippery concrete embankments. Whoever got in there did not escape. Bridges had been created only 2, so that caused major detours.
A rancher from Timbuktu said: 'This channel is cursed! He kills and will continue to kill. He has already killed nearly 50 people. And let countless animals drown. In the meantime, how many people here in Timbuktu have benefited from it? Nobody! And the standing water is inedible. This channel is not our dream, but our nightmare.'