Compagnie Malienne de Navigation (COMANAV), 171
Cresques, Abraham, 22
Crocodiles, 237
Cuba, 9
Czech Republic, 2
Dakar, 6, 16, 17, 19, 20, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 44, 50, 54, 61, 70, 74, 78
Dance, 245, 246, 247
Davidson, Basil, 32
De Luzy, Matthew, 37, 39, 40, 43, 44, 45, 50, 51, 62
Dead Sea Scrolls, 158
Débo, Lake, 191
DEET, 12
Derek, 5, 6, 7, 8
Desertification, 138, 217
Dianous, Lieutenant, 57
Diboli, 49
Diré, 179
Djembe Drum, 112
Djenné, 16, 32, 47, 131, 139, 159, 255, 257
Djenné Mosque, 256
Djiguibombo, 205, 208, 263
Dogon bath, 211
Dogon Country (Le Pays Dogon), 16, 20, 21, 71, 86, 193, 208, 209, 216, 240, 253, 263, 283
Dogon Escarpment, 210
Dogon Religion, 229
Doha Development Round, xvii
Doucouré, Djibril, 162, 163
Douentza, 16, 68, 69, 79, 86, 93, 94, 100, 108, 131, 273, 282
Dourou, 225, 226
Doxycycline, 12
Droughts, 115
Dukoral, 12
Egypt, xvi, 38, 47
Endé, 219
England, 3, 7, 45, 120, 125, 150
Eric, 51
Essakane, 20, 110, 111, 112, 113, 116, 119, 120, 123, 132, 167, 186, 199
Étienne, 234
Eurafrica, 56
Europe, 17, 18, 38, 42, 43, 45, 47, 49, 88, 138, 146, 268
European Union (EU), 182
Europeans, 4, 9, 11, 16, 38, 45, 46, 48, 103, 127, 145, 164, 191, 232, 250
Express International, 19, 26, 36, 41, 49
Fagin, xiv Faguibine, Lac, 66
Feathers, 75, 125
Female Circumcision, xv, 243, 244, 247, 248
Festival au Desert, 19, 20, 100, 276
Fez, 32, 38
Fez, Sherif of, 38
Firefinch, 85
Flatters, Colonel Paul, 55, 56, 57
Fleming, Fergus, 58, 115
Forests, 217
Fox News, 13
France, 3, 45, 50, 56, 58, 75, 100, 116, 149, 150, 211
François Hollande, 279
Freetown, 149
French Sudan, 8, 28
Fulani, 31, 153
Galapagos Islands, 10
Gao, 21, 32, 66, 69, 86, 108, 159, 171, 272
Garden of Allah (Sahara), 121, 122
Gardner, Brian, 21, 150
Gates of Africa: Death Discovery and the Search for Timbuktu, The, 19
Gatorade, 15
G8, xvii
Général Soumare, 194
Geographical Society of Paris, 153
Germany, 113, 160, 240
Ghana Empire, 31
Ginna Bana, 208
Gitta, Mr., 28
Global Issues, xiv
Gold, 9, 29, 31, 38, 39, 45, 58, 71, 75, 82, 91, 103, 127, 129, 137, 153, 159, 162, 206, 212
Gondo Plain, 209, 210, 217
Granaries, 207
Great Serpent Mask, 250
Greater Niger Delta, 171, 191
Greenberg, Peter, 76
Guinea, 47, 171
Guinguinee, 39
Gulf of Guinea, 171
Halis, 151
Hammett, Dashiell, 12
Harmattan, 84, 122
Helena, 100, 128, 131
Hemingway, Ernest, 10
Hepatitis A and B, 13
High Sierra, 15
Holy Grail, xvi Hope, Bob, xiii Hospitality, 221
Hotel Colombe, 107, 108
Hôtel Le Fleuve, 193
Houli, 197
Ibi, 245
Indiana Jones, 227
Ink Road, 159
International Criminal Court, 274
International Herald Tribune, 260
International Monetary Fund (IMF), xvii, 231
Inzelman, 56
Ireland, 186
Ireli, 239
Islam, 139, 140, 158, 159, 160, 163, 229
Ivory Coast, 37, 44
Jeniba, 54, 62, 63
Johannesburg Earth Summit, xvii
John, 100, 108, 109
Kani-Kombolé, 207, 211, 215
Kankou Moussa, 194
Katsor Restaurant, 251
Kayes, 44, 49
Keenan, Jeremy, 115
Kel Amazagh, 113
Kel Tademaket, 114
Kevin, 94, 95, 97, 98
Kita, 61
Klekolo, 261
Koité, Habib, 284
Koran, 147, 156, 159, 163
Koranic Sankor University, 30
Korioumé (Kabara), 16, 79, 104, 109, 148, 164, 167, 169
Lagos, 260
Laing, Alexander Gordon, 7, 46, 47, 86, 88, 114, 138, 143, 144, 145, 146, 147, 148, 149, 152, 153, 162, 169, 266
Land of the Blacks (Beled-es-Sudan), 133
Languages, 241
La Bibliothèque Mohamed Tahar, 279
Le Petit Voix, 40
Leningrad, 196
Libya, 115
Life Without Principle, 9
Lipman, Professor Geoffrey, xiii-xvii
Liverpool, 9
London (England), xiv, 153
Lonely Planet Guide to West Africa, The, 8, 19
MacNamara, Robert, 180
Madrasas, 139
Madrid, 37
Malaria, 46, 51, 90, 179, 229, 247
Mali, xiv, xv, xvii, xix, xx, 3, 5-8, 11, 13-17, 19-22, 25, 28, 30, 31, 37, 38, 43, 44, 46, 49, 51, 54, 61, 65-68, 71-75, 77, 78, 81, 85-88, 92, 94, 97-101, 104, 109, 110, 114, 115, 132, 136, 138, 139, 159, 160, 161, 164, 171, 173, 175, 180, 186, 191, 192, 200, 201, 215, 218, 223, 230-233, 242, 245, 248, 256-260, 265-269, 272-274, 283–285
Mali: The Bradt Travel Guide, 11
Malian Empire, 11, 31, 138
Malinke, 61
Mamadou, 72, 73, 79-91, 95, 98, 101, 107, 109, 110, 120, 127, 128, 130, 199, 201, 203-205, 256-258, 269
Mandigers, Jose, 172, 173, 176, 177, 182, 183, 184, 187, 190, 193
Mandigo, 75
Mandigo Askia Dynasty, 31
Manding Mountains, 61
Mansa Kankan Musa, Sultan, 37, 38, 146
Marabouts, 159
Marijke, 223
Marrakech, 32
Marriage, 205
Masks, 251, 252
Mauritania, 37, 115, 116, 123, 260
Mecca, 38, 139, 141, 147, 190
Mectizan, 180
Merck Pharmaceuticals, 180
Millennium Development Goals, xiii
Mission Culturelle, 145
Mobylette, 208
Mohammed (Travel Agent), xv, 16, 17, 20, 21, 22, 65-75, 77-80, 84-87, 93, 98, 100, 107, 108, 111, 119, 120, 128, 129, 131, 132, 135, 136, 139, 140, 141, 142, 143, 144, 167, 176, 194, 198, 199, 200, 204, 255, 258, 259, 261, 262, 268
Mohamed Diagayete, 278
Mongolia, 10
Monica, 100, 108, 109, 121, 122, 126, 127, 128
Monterrey Debt Summit, xvii Moors, 32, 114, 123, 149
Mopti, 16, 20, 66, 79, 86, 88, 90, 91, 92, 93, 176, 188, 192, 193, 198, 199, 203, 212, 227, 255, 257, 268, 269, 275, 279, 283
Moroccans, 32
Morocco, 114, 149, 260
Mountain Equipment Co-op, 8
Muslim, 32, 38, 47, 137, 139, 141, 158, 163, 229
Mythology, Dogon, 248
Nanaga, Captain, 183, 187, 188, 190, 192, 194, 195
Narrative of Robert Adams, The, 126
National Geographic, 189, 276
National Hotel (Havana), 9
National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad
(MNLA), 272
National Pact, 116
Nema, 79-84, 86-90, 92, 93, 98, 100, 101, 111, 121, 127, 130, 132, 192-195, 200, 205, 206, 208, 211-213, 217, 219, 220, 222, 224, 225, 226, 228, 230, 232, 237, 238, 239, 241, 244, 245, 247, 251,
255, 259, 268, 269
Nepal, 10
New York City, 10
New York Times, 273
Niafounké, 186
Niamey, 176
“Nile of the Negroes,” 179
Nile Perch, 187
Nile River, 103
Nixon, Richard, 180
Niger, River, 3, 14, 16, 18, 20, 21, 31, 32, 38, 45, 46, 47, 58, 71, 84, 85, 101, 102, 103, 104, 136, 153, 159, 167, 169, 170, 171, 172, 175, 191, 193, 208, 223, 233, 253, 257, 259
Nigeria, 36-37, 171, 260
Nitege, 241
Nombori, 228
Nommo, 250
Norway, 160, 292
Océan-Niger, 19
Old Teli, 218
Oliver Twist, xiv
Ona, 172-174, 176, 179, 187, 190, 192-193
Ondaatje, Sir Christopher, 21
Onions, xv, 221, 226, 261, 271
Ouagadougou, 3
Ouargla, 56-57
Oumar, 236, 251-253
Oxford University, 153
Palin, Michael, xiii, 11
Paris (France), 9, 94, 103, 153, 258, 288
Park, Mungo, 7, 18, 46, 85-86
Pierre, 29-30, 34, 37, 39-40, 42, 52-54, 62
Pinasse, 16, 66, 79, 93, 136, 170-173, 175, 177, 179, 181-184, 189, 192-194
Pink Floyd, 232
Pirogue, 85, 92, 187-188, 191, 255
Plant, Robert, 19
Pont des Martyrs (Bamako), 63
Portugal, 100
Portuguese, 32, 121, 125, 160
Prague, 2, 7-8
Preserve-a-Manuscript Program, 161
Quebec City, 9
Quest for Timbuktu, 21
Ramadan, 141
Religions, 141, 229
Renate, 223
River Blindness (Onchocerciasis), xv, 179-180
Robert (“Netherlands”), 169, 173, 175, 179, 181, 182, 187-188, 190-191, 193, 195, 197-199
Robert Fowler, 276
Rose, Benjamin (Alias Robert Adams), 46, 88, 123-124,126, 171, 196, 288
Rough Guide to West Africa, 19-20
Route de Kabara, 104, 107, 164, 167, 169, 286
Sahara Desert, xiv, xv, 20, 38, 56, 137, 287
Sahara Overland, 268
Sahel, 121, 201, 272, 276, 279
Saheli, Es, 139, 141
Salt, xvi, 9, 30-31, 39, 45, 75, 91, 159, 196, 198, 257, 260
Salt Caravans, 31
Salt Coins, 31
San Francisco, 10
Sanankoroba, 81
Sanda Quid Boumama, 274
Sanga, 251
Sarr, Mr., 28
Sattin, Anthony, 18
Saturday Club (see French West African Association for Promoting the Discovery of Inland Parts of the Continent of Africa) Scott, Chris, 268
Seabrook, William, 138
Seffe, 14, 27, 35, 42, 70, 73, 120, 164, 171, 185-186, 201, 245
Ségou, 69, 79, 81, 84, 86, 142, 199-200, 255, 257-258, 261
Senegal, iv, 5-6, 16-17, 19-20, 27-28, 30, 34, 36, 49-50, 78
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), 12
Shigematsu, Dennis, 291
Sid’Ahmed, 260
Sierra Leone, 149
Sigui, 250
Sirius A, B, C, 250
Slave Trade Fort (Dakar), 6
Slave Trading, 31, 125
Sleeping Sickness (Trypanosomiasis), 12
Société de Géographie de France, 149, 288
Sofitel Dakar Teranga Hotel, 26
Solomon, 119-120, 127, 130
Songhais, 11, 32
South Africa, 11, 160, 269, 280, 282
Spade, Sam, 12
Spain, xvii, 160
St. Jude, xiv
Stanford Books and Maps, 18
Sunrise with Seamonsters, 11
Sword and the Cross, The, 58, 115
Tabel, 114, 120-121, 130
Takumbawt, 113
Tamacheq, 112-113, 115-116, 129
Tangiers, 149
Taoudenni, 195-197
Targui, 115
Tegusa, 31
Teli, 207, 218
Tellem Pygmies, 217
Tellem Villages, 218
Thackeray, William Makepeace, 88
Thiès, 30, 44
Thoreau, Henry David, 9
Three Vets, 8
Timbuktu (Tambuta, Tembuch, Timbuctoo, Timkitoo, Tombooctoo, Tombouktou, Tombuctou, Tombuto, Tumbyktu), iv, xiv, xv-xvi, xviii, xix, xx, 1-3, 5, 7-8, 22, 25-26, 28, 30-32, 34, 36-40, 45-50, 52, 56, 58, 61-63, 66-71, 73, 75-76, 78-79, 85-86, 88, 90-91, 94, 96-98, 100, 102-105, 107-110, 113-117, 120, 123-126, 131-133, 135-154, 156-172, 178, 196-197, 200, 208, 223, 233, 253, 257, 265-267, 269-270, 272, 276-279, 280-283, 284; Ahmed Baba Centre, 160, 281; Athens of Africa, 9; Barth’s Lane, 152; Bibliothèque Manuscrits — Al-Wangari, 154; Bouctou Hotel, 135-136, 139; Bouctou’s Well, 151; Boulevard Askia Mohammed, 107, 139; City of Gold, 38; City of Majesty, 154; Decline of Timbuktu, 287; Djinguereber Mosque, 137, 139, 276; Ethnographic Museum, 152; European Expeditions to Timbuktu, 45; Eyes of the Desert, 138; Flame of Peace, 116; Flood Damage, 13; Forbidden City, 43; Hotel Colombe, 107-108; Koranic Sankor University, 30; La Mystérieuse, 125, 149; Mission Culturelle, 145, 163; Mosques, xviii, 125, 137, 153, 229, 274; Old City, 104, 146, 150; Pearl of Africa, 137; Petit Marché, 108; Place de l’Indépendence, 107, 139; Poulet d’Or, 108-109, 142; René Caillié House, 147-148; Rome of the Sudan, 9; Sankoré Mosque, 137; Sidi Yahia Mosque, 137, 147, 151-152; Timbuctoo Station, 55; Town of 333 Saints, 136, 274; Trade, 148; World Heritage Site, 136-137, 140, 256, 288
Timbuktu Educational Foundation, 161, 278, 291
Timbuktu Manuscripts, 10, 138, 143, 156, 163, 291, 303-304
Timbuktu Rush, 45
Timbuktu University of Mali, 161
Tinariwen, 113
Tinifar, 115
Tireli, 233
Togu-na, 207-208
Tombouctou, 3, 34, 162-163, 194, 213
Toobabs, 40
Toure, Ali Farka, 19, 113, 132, 186, 268
Touré, Amadou Toumani (ATT), 230, 272, 289
Tourism, 12, 17, 75, 152, 189-190, 230-231, 266, 270
Tourism Edinburgh, 17
Trans-Saharan Highway, 260
Trans-Saharan Railway, 58, 288
Transsaharian Railway, 55, 58
Trans-Siberian Railway, 10
Travel Bug Store, 8
Travels in the Interior of Africa, 18
Travels Through Central Africa to Timbuctoo, xi, 150
Tripoli, 47, 146, 153
Tuareg, xv, xix, 3, 19-20, 32, 46-47, 56-57, 69, 94, 101-102, 104, 107, 111-119, 121-122, 129-130, 145, 148, 151-153, 158-159, 169, 213, 231, 267, 271-273, 282, 287-289
Tuareg Imashagan, 3
Tuareg Tea, 118
Tuareg, The, 115
Tuat Tribes, 58
Typhoid, 13
Uganda, 21
United Nations (UN), xvii, 137, 140
United Nations Millennium Development Goals, xiii UNESCO General History of Africa, 38
UNESCO List of World Heritage Sites, xix, 136, 288
United States, 50, 125, 160-162
Unveiling of Timbuktu, The, 39
Urine, 125, 143
Ussegnou, 26, 29, 33, 35-37, 39-40, 42, 52-54, 58-59, 62
Vancouver, 8, 22
Velton, Ross, 11
Venice, xiv
Victoria, Queen, 153
Wale (Game), 206
Wangara, 31
Wawa Hotel, 20, 63-64, 261
Welch, Galbraith, 39
West African International Time (WAIT), 98
White Man’s Grave (Africa), 46, 48
Woodstock in the Desert, 113
World Bank, xvii, 180-181, 231
World Health Organization (WHO), 180
World Heritage Site (Timbuktu), xvi, 136-137, 140, 256, 288
Yellow Fever, 7, 51
Youga-Dogourou, 249-250
Youga-Na, 249, 251
Youga-Piri, 249
Yukon, 10
Zakarie (Zak), xv, xix, 72-73, 79-89, 91-95, 98, 100-101, 107, 132, 134-136, 139-143, 147, 152, 154, 156, 158, 162-164, 167, 171-172, 192-195, 200-201, 204-210, 213-231, 233-251, 255-256, 259-260, 267-271
Zigzag to Timbuktu, 165
Praise for Rick Antonson’s Route 66 Still Kicks
“One of the best books of the bunch…”
—2012 round up of holiday travel books by the New York Times
“A must for Route 66 aficionados.”
—Chicago Tribune
“The most impressive account of a road trip I have ever read.”
—Paul Taylor, publisher of Route 66 Magazine
“A middle-age Woodstock in motion, an encounter with an America that isn’t as lost as we think. And in the end, Antonson proves that Route 66 indeed still kicks - as does America.”
—Keith Bellows, editor in chief, National Geographic Traveler
“This is America’s favorite highway talking, and Antonson is a superb enabler, so sit back and relax as Route 66 gives up its legendary stories.”
—Peter Greenberg, Travel Editor, CBS News
“Route 66 Still Kicks was by far the best book I have read about the Road in many, many years. Highly recommended.”
—Bob Moore, co-author, The Complete Guidebook to Route 66
A bricklayer’s nightmare or a roadmaker’s dream? Route 66’s early surface varied from dirt to pavement, from loose-set gravel to craftsmanship like this still-maintained stretch of brickwork. Today, the once-upon-a-time Road of Dreams wanders warily through the heart of America.
Introduction
The Most Famous Highway in the World
“Actually, all I know about it is that song . . . ”
—World traveler
Years ago, I was sitting in a California tavern. One of the men I was chatting with, a truck driver—bald, squat, and a bit sassy—told me, “You’ll never understand America until you’ve driven Route 66—that’s old Route 66—all the way. It’s the most famous highway in the world.” He lifted his eyes over his Samuel Adams beer before revealing: “It runs through six states.”
“Eight,” said the lady he was with, as she sifted peanuts from shells.
“Seven,” he countered, as though it were negotiable.
She began to hum, “Get your kicks on Route 66 . . . ”
The truck driver mouthed the song’s words as the fingers of his left hand tracked place names, while those of his right hand kept count of how many states were implied. His friend dropped the peanut shells on the tiled floor, freeing her own fingers in order to compete, first wiping them on her checkered slacks.
“Chicago,” he said.
“Not a state,” I offered.
“Illinois. Missouri, Kansas,” he rattled.
“Texas,” she said, pointing a finger to the wooden ceiling for some unknown reason.
“Missed Oklahoma,” he said.