The sun was crossing toward the horizon. This was truly the last outpost of the world. More than a few Westerners had disappeared in the desert without a trace. Then I remembered that just before Id started for Timbuktu, a fellow worker had said, Theres a famous mosque in Timbuktu. It was built from mud in the 1500s.
Many Islamic pilgrims visit it every years.
But theres also a tiny Christian church, which virtually no one visits. Look it up if you get a chance. The youngsters were willing to help, though they were obviously confused about what I was looking for. Several times elderly men and women scolded them harshly as we passed, but they persisted. Finally we arrived, not at the church, but at the open doorway of a tiny mud-brick house.