Fort at Taodenni
Taodenni, Mali 2005
Taodenni, 500 miles north of Timbuktu, lies on the bed of an ancient salt lake in the middle of the Sahara Desert. Above you see the ruins of an old French Fort. Abandoned and rusting old WWII vehicles lay half buried in the sand at the front of the ruins. Beneath my feet, as I shot the photo, were the graves of prisoners who died working the mines. Many of them were the political enemies of the Malian ruler who took power when Mali gained its independence from France.
A violent sandstorm was blowing on this morning. During the night, tiny grains of golden sand had penetrated the tent. Drifts of sand covered us and all of our belongings. I didn’t dare take my good cameras from their protective cases and there was no way for me to get my hands clean enough to get my contacts in my eyes. I ate my sand encrusted breakfast and tried to get in a good mood. Luckily, I had a point and shoot with auto focus.