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Something I learned while doing this project is that money can do good and bad at the same time. When Mansa Musa gave a lot of his gold to the people in Cairo it lead to the price decreasing by half. Many of his people that were in the caravan lost their lives due to the values of money. Bandits wanted the money from the caranvan so they attacked the people.

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After what seemed like years of traveling through the sandy and dry desert we reached a city called Timbuktu. Timbuktu is teeming with people of all different religions and cultures.  I have never seen such a variety of people who are so educated.  So many of them are scholars.  There is a lot of commerce here, so many items to buy and sell.  I am excited to be here, I feel like if we could stay here awhile, I could learn so much from the people around me, but we must carry on our journey.

Picture: This is a photo of what Timbuktu looks like. It is a desert with many big buildings! Traveling through was different because of the different cultures and religions.

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We have just reached the city called Cairo. When we got there the first thing we did was give a large amount of gold to the poor. Then this man led Mansa Musa to the temple of the Sultan. At first, Mansa Musa did not want to see the Sultan but the man persuaded him into going. Mansa Musa brought along a few of his closest advisors and the General grabbed a hand few of soliders to acompany Mansa Musa. Luckily, I was one of the few Soliders to come along. When we came into the pressence of the Sultan, Mansa Musa refused to bow down. He then Whispered something to his closest advisor and then relied "I bow only to the god that created me!" He then went forward to the sultan, then the Sultan half rose to greet him and sat beside him. They convered for a long time but then he stood up and told his it was time to leave. The Sultan would then send several horses to us to help us along the journey. We would not leave instantly, we would stay here for at least 3 months. To repay the Sultan,  we exchanged more gold. I hope the gold helps out their economy!!!

Picture: This is a photo of the sultan! We had brought enough gold to share with many people around us!

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We have finally reached our destination. The city of mecca is beautiful! Mecca has became an important trade center and the people of the city can get unique and advanced items.
Everyone on the caravan has to do tributes in Mecca. These tributes include walking around the Kaaba counter-clockwise seven times, running back and forth between the hills of Safa and Marwah, drink from the Zamzam well, and go to the plains of Mount Afafat. The journey was long and harsh. Many of the people died along the way because of dehydration. The hot and dry air of the desert made it difficult to stay hydrated. The sand grew thicker and thicker the further we went. Many groups of bandits attacked us along the way to try and steal our gold. Luckily, the caravan soliders were prepared for the attack and wiped them out.
I am very thankful to be out of the desert and into the city of Mecca, but I miss my family!

Picture: This is a picture of the Kaaba.The Muslim religion is intertwined with it. We have to walk around it seven times counter-clockwise.

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The King of Kings has ran out of gold from giving to everyone. He had to barrow money from the Cairo's money lenders so we could make the travels home. We took the  route home through the coast of Arabia and then finally back into Egypt. Many people have died from thirst or hunger due to the walk through the desert. There were also bandits that have attacked us and killed many of us.
When arriving back to the town many people were confused and surprised that we were back. I was very happy to see Abatha and my now 5 and 3 year old! The travel that I went on was one of a lifetime. There so many experiences that I never thought I would be able to participate in.

Picture: This is a map of our travels through the different cities. It also contains some pictures of the different things we used.

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I have just received word that I am 1 of 500 soldiers in my city that is going on the Journey to mecca with The King of Kings!! I am extremely excited for this journey, but what leads me to second guess my decision for going is knowing I will be gone for a year. I will be leaving behind my wife and 2 kids. Me and my wife, Abatha have been married for 5 years. My oldest child is 4 and my youngest is 2.

I believe the Journey will be long, hot and the land will be difficult to navigate. We must travel north into the Sahara Desert then into Egypt. We plan on stopping at few locations along the way, but I have not been told exactly where. In order to prepare for this journey we have to collect animals such as cows, goats, chickens, and some camels and use them to feed the people going with us. Items will be carried by the camels. These items will be 30,000 pounds pounds of gold, food, and extra clothing.

Picture: This is a picture of Mansa Musa, our ruler. He is the richest person that I know. He is the leader of our travling caravan.

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Somethings I learned is share your wealth, even if that means that you are going to run out. Also you need to remember your surroundings when traveling. Mansa Musa was able to give his gold to everyone and be able to help them when they couldn't help themselves which was very interesting. He was also faced with death within his caravan from starvation and bandits, but yet still made it home with almost all of his crew. He and the people that went with him were very courageous.