MALI

Location - West Africa; Capital - Bamako; Population - 13 million; Currency - CFA Franc

The Burkina Faso-Mali bus dropped me off in Mopti, in April 2003.

The West African CFA

The mud-built Misire mosque in Mopti

Tablets of salt arrive in Mopti from Taoudenni and Timbuktu via the Niger river

Loading and unloading pirogues at Mopti's port on the Bani river

Pirogues and pinasses on the Bani river at Mopti

Pottery for sale in Mopti

The fish market at Mopti port

Sarasenni's mud-built mosque, a short pirogue ride from Mopti

Children of Sarasenni, a Fulani village on the banks of the Niger, with my boatsman

The villagers of Nyomi, a Bozo village close to Sarasenni

En route from Mopti to Timbuktu.
It took about 22 hours by public transport, crossing rivers in glorified rafts and resting in a hut at night.
A direct 4x4 can do the trip in 8 hours, but without the memories..

'Welcome to Timbuktu, city of 333 saints'

The 16th century Sankore mosque in Timbuktu

Posing for a photo in Timbuktu

Baking bread in Timbuktu

The 14th century Dyingerey Ber mosque in Timbuktu

In the courtyard of the Dyingerey Ber mosque, Timbuktu

The Flame of Peace, a monument to the Tuareg rebellion in the 1990's, Timbuktu

This is the well of Bouctou. Bouctou was an elder who oversaw the settlement. Tim (or tom) means 'well' hence the name Tombouctou, or Timbuktu

Camel ride into the Sahara, Timbuktu

A Tuareg settlement in the Sahara, Timbuktu. The Tuareg are a nomadic Saharan people

Bandiagara is a base for venturing out to Dogon country.
The Dogon have their own culture and religion, and live along the Bandiagara escarpment.
On the left are sun-baked mud bricks

The mud-brick granaries at Djiguibombo, Dogon country

At the back is a meeting place for elders, called a togu-na, in Djiguibombo

The Bandiagara escarpment

Kani-Kombole is a village at the bottom of the Bandiagara escarpment

For more about Dogon country click here

The village market at Kani-Kombole

The mud-brick mosque at Kani-Kombole

Sleeping on the roof at Teli - a lot cooler than spending the night inside.
At the base of the escarpment are former dwellings of the Tellem people

The Dogon village of Teli - a mosque is in the background

Dogon women chewing on kola nuts, Teli

The Grand Mosque in Djenne, the largest mud-brick building in the world and an amazing sight

The wooden juts form the structure of the mosque, and act as supports when the building is repaired after the rainy season, Djenne

The Grand Mosque, Djenne

A great view from the roof of my Djenne hotel..

Though the room was, erm.., basic.
Nice and cool in the day but a sweat-box on a Summer night, Djenne

Many of the houses in Djenne are also mud-brick

The quiet streets of Djenne

Snake skins and monkey heads are on sale at Bamako's fetish market

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LINKS

www.officetourisme-mali.com

www.friendsofmali.org

www.malimystere.com - a local Mali tour agency recommended by a friend of mine

I am not responsible for the content of external websites.