African City: Kumbi Saleh

     It was a hot day during a drought in the 9th century. I was waiting at the port for the Iron Star. She was a cargo ship used for transporting goods from the booming Kumbi Saleh, to the eastern boarders of North America. As I boarded the boat, I looked back at the shore one last time because it would be the last time i saw land in 43 days.
     My trip over wasn't that bad, we saw a variety of climates and weather; good and bad. I met some very interesting people on the ship and grew very fond of one. He was a 68 year old doctor named Roland. He wasn't any doctor though, he was the doctor that delivered and cared for the greatest warrior of all time, The Ghana. Dr. Roland cared for the Ghana as he grew up. He told me stories of The Ghana training and preparing to take his fathers position as the military commander. 
     On the 38th day of our journey over to the coast of Africa, we had an unpleasant surprise. A group of soldiers from the Sosso's army attacked our ship. They took our rare purple dyes and our water. After that the rest of the trip went smoothly. I still remember the morning we could see land on the horizon. I sat for 7 hours watching that coastline grow and grow. Till finally the smell of spices and camels and burning food hit my nose. As we got within 100 meters of the port we could here the commotion and noises of the busy port. Our captain weaving in and out of boats, still found the right size slot to park in. As i got off the ship and onto the docks i was bombarded with merchant children trying to sell me cheap gizmos and such. I worked my way through the busy port and into the port side tavern. That is where i spent the night before i started my land journey to Kumbi Saleh.
     The next 3 weeks I spent on the back of a camel. When I arrived in Kumbi Saleh I went to some of the merchant stands and bought some food and water along with some small jewelry. As I walked through the main streets of Kumbi Saleh, I heard a loud trumpet blairing. All of the sudden people started kneeling and praying. This lasted for about 4 minutes and happened twice a day. That night i spent in a small tavern on the outskirts of the city. 
     The next morning I visited the garden of trees. Throughout the day dozens of people come here to meditate and pray. One thing that I noticed as I traveled through the city was that the streets were heavily guarded by soldiers. Though this shouldn't have caught me off guard, since the military leader was the most powerful man alive. 
     On my last day, I went and visited with Dr. Roland for lunch. Amazingly enough he had invited The Ghana to come eat with us and he did. I asked him questions of what it was like to be in so much control and how he attained the control. Unfortunately my conversation was cut short by the sound of the captain shouting ALL ABOARD. This was the start of my 43 day journey back to North America.

SOURCES:
Wikipedia 
Mr.Kash.com
Google