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Seasons of Sand
Recreates the author's personal quest to rescue a former hub of the Timbuktu trade route from abject poverty and to transform it into a self-reliant village in the modern world.
236 pages, Hardcover
First published November 1, 1993
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About the author
Ernst Aebi
11 booksErnst Aebi was born 1938 in Zurich, Switzerland. As a young man he traveled through the Middle East, India, South-East Asia, and China to Japan.
First in Lebanon, then in Japan he started exhibiting and selling his paintings, then traveled through Siberia and returned to Switzerland where he entered Zurich University and graduated with a Masters in Political Science.
In 1966 Aebi moved to California and then New York. He married his first wife Sabine and they had four children.
By 1976 they had separated, and needing to house himself inexpensively during an acrimonious and costly divorce, Aebi together with his friend, Fritz Gross, converted a SoHo loft into a desirable residence that they later sold for a profit.
Aebi would repeat this formula becoming a successful entrepreneur and property manager while assuming full custody of his children and raising them with the help of freinds, in particular his girlfriend Jeri.
Aebi continued to move from one adventure to another throughout his life. He drove in the Paris-Dakar rally across the Sahara, sailed the Atlantic four times and explored the Canadian Arctic and Siberia, even going to the North Pole.
Aebi's travel in 1987 to Araoaune in the Sahara and his ill-fated investments there are the subject of the film BAREFOOT TO TIMBUKTU and his 1993 SEASONS OF SAND .
At the other ends of the earth Aebi traveled in South America, going up the Rio Negro, and crossing the Amazon jungle in a dugout and travelled on the other side of the world in the Australian outback too.
From down low to up high he rock climbed in the Alps, Aconcagua and Mont Blanc.
Aebi and his wife Emilie once crossed the Himalayas, entering illegally into western Tibet where they became prisoners as described in A SHORT STINT IN TIBET .
Aebi also wrote the thriller a short stint in burma and an illustrated book for young readers titled if there were holes in the sky .
First in Lebanon, then in Japan he started exhibiting and selling his paintings, then traveled through Siberia and returned to Switzerland where he entered Zurich University and graduated with a Masters in Political Science.
In 1966 Aebi moved to California and then New York. He married his first wife Sabine and they had four children.
By 1976 they had separated, and needing to house himself inexpensively during an acrimonious and costly divorce, Aebi together with his friend, Fritz Gross, converted a SoHo loft into a desirable residence that they later sold for a profit.
Aebi would repeat this formula becoming a successful entrepreneur and property manager while assuming full custody of his children and raising them with the help of freinds, in particular his girlfriend Jeri.
Aebi continued to move from one adventure to another throughout his life. He drove in the Paris-Dakar rally across the Sahara, sailed the Atlantic four times and explored the Canadian Arctic and Siberia, even going to the North Pole.
Aebi's travel in 1987 to Araoaune in the Sahara and his ill-fated investments there are the subject of the film BAREFOOT TO TIMBUKTU and his 1993 SEASONS OF SAND .
At the other ends of the earth Aebi traveled in South America, going up the Rio Negro, and crossing the Amazon jungle in a dugout and travelled on the other side of the world in the Australian outback too.
From down low to up high he rock climbed in the Alps, Aconcagua and Mont Blanc.
Aebi and his wife Emilie once crossed the Himalayas, entering illegally into western Tibet where they became prisoners as described in A SHORT STINT IN TIBET .
Aebi also wrote the thriller a short stint in burma and an illustrated book for young readers titled if there were holes in the sky .
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
August 14, 2010
It takes commitment to make a village. It is really difficult to imagine what Ernst faced when he first arrived in Araouane. He must have had immeasurable boundless energy.
I now wonder what camel tastes like (chicken? maybe stronger?). So many in Araouane subsist on it along with other stapels. Somehow a craving for dates and strong sweet tea has arisen.
Aebi accomplished some marvelous things there, from building basic infrastructure, providing healthcare, establishing economics and political structure too.
Could you or I have done half of what he did? Of course his wealth helped immensely.
I now wonder what camel tastes like (chicken? maybe stronger?). So many in Araouane subsist on it along with other stapels. Somehow a craving for dates and strong sweet tea has arisen.
Aebi accomplished some marvelous things there, from building basic infrastructure, providing healthcare, establishing economics and political structure too.
Could you or I have done half of what he did? Of course his wealth helped immensely.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 of 1 review