The first explorers described Timbuktu as having seven golden gates through which one must pass to enter into Timbuktu. This was a metaphor for the values of the true Timbuktion such as tolerance, honour, dignity, generosity, hospitality, honesty, forgiveness, and justice. To really enter into the spirit of the city of Timbuktu one must pass through these golden values.
Today the city has been overrun by extremists who hijacked the rebellion from the Nomad separatists. But it is still under siege; those golden gates are surrounded and battered by the intolerant, narrow, strictures they are imposing on the beleaguered residents who have not managed to flee.
The proceeds of the sale of this calendar, whose images explore some of the losses suffered by the exactions, will go to aid the refugees of the city.
