In negotiations lasting many years mediators succeeded in reaching agreement. It was the birth of modern diplomacy. Sixteen forty eight. Percent starts october twenty fourth on d. W. Her. German missionary johann asleep month visited kenya the governor of mombasa warned him not to klein dismount in a neighboring tanzania saying it was haunted by evil spirits. You hunted man never did climate but in eight hundred forty eight he became the first european to see tanzania as great Mount Kilimanjaro and kebo it snow covered summit. Back in europe people just last month reports how could there be snow in east africa only three hundred kilometers from the equator his brain had obviously gone soft too much exposure to the harsh african sun perhaps. The Geographical Society would probably sooner have believed the old african story about Mt Kilimanjaro that summit was wound about with a huge white snake. Its rare to see kebo from below the mountain the snowy peak is usually covered in cloud to see if you have to go up in an airplane or risk the difficult climb. The ascent begins down in the jungle rain forest like this is called cloud forest in the mornings its actually in the clouds. A walk through the rain forest is much shorter now than one hundred years ago when the first european expeditions set out to conquer the mountain and thats not just because of modern equipment the rain forest itself has shrunk in some places the green belt around the kilimanjaro massive is now only a more moderate frost the rest has been chopped down for wood. As we go higher up the forest gives way to stick brushwood from about thirty eight hundred meters the climate will only support grasses and heather the more lands. Are now on the shear ridge in spite of its name its actually one of the three summits of the kilimanjaro massive over thousands of years the volcanic rock has been worn down the ridges all that remains of an original crater edge appear were so high that there are no more clouds no more trees and a clear view opens up on to keep only a thin veil of cloud still lingering around the mountain as if to enhance the naked beauty of the peaks and plateaus. During the night the temperature drops below freezing but by day it can get really hot plant species here have adapted to the conditions this giant lobelia opened its fleshy leaves which can store moisture and work after the freezing night come the first rays of sun. Her. Still higher end of the sloping she ridge the vegetation is even thinner giant groundsel sticks up out of the bleak landscape several metres high. After that there are only stones in screen a few birds and the majestic side of the Silver Mountain. Looking down the sheer ridge appears like a rough green sea and everything below is swallowed into the cold mist. Nobody knows why buffaloes come up so high there is no grazing for them here only cold and dead. Mother formations the climbs not so difficult up to this point except for coping with the altitude making eighty seven the german geographer hans meyer made his first attempt to climb the kebo cone he got as far as the glaciers but at five thousand meters he met a snow storm and was forced to give up. Another two years went by before meyer led an expedition of several hundred men on kilimanjaro and became the first known person to prove he reached the summit. At five thousand eight hundred ninety five meters he stood at last on the peak named who were for freedom. Only then were scholars in europe willing to accept that there really was a snowcapped mountain here so close to the equator in fact even in earlier times people must have climbed up to the glaciers on kebo what else could explain the old legend of the Silver Mountain the mountain top with silver the turned into water when you brought it down to the plains. Im. The American WriterErnest Hemingway kilimanjaro was as wide as the world itself and unimaginably white in the sunshine. But not for much longer it seems the glaciers on kebo are melting since one nine hundred seventy two their massive been reduced by ninety five percent the dust raised by all the vehicles in the savannah below stores of heat from the sun and the greenhouse effect is made worse by slash and burn forest clearance rainfall is getting sparser too so by the year twenty certainly the probably wont be any snow left on kilimanjaro. All the silver on the mountain believe turned into water and run away. It was on the sixth of october eight hundred eighty nine that the german hans maya finally reached the highest point in africa standing on the summit of the worlds highest freestanding mountain and almost religious feeling of reverence came over him. Looking into the great crater he thought of all the sacrifices and disappointments over the years when this mountain had dominated his life. The gazing down over the many stages of the ascent he also felt a lesion and satisfaction probably more than any of the thousands who followed him. Meyer felt that only he and his one companion on the summit had been truly allowed to share the mountain secret. There there. Come on the. Love music weve got you covered. Pop exports hospital w. One. Classical music star. Jones. Trend wildly popular. Hesitant song the truth. How does this stop him. Before you move. Forward oh. Link to news from africa and the world join us on facebook d w africa. Thank you thank you. Hello and welcome to your german music show public sport with me live ina among the highlights in this weeks edition. But who from cologne. The tenth anniversary of the