Mali Travel Guide, the Golden Empire lost in sand

Mali has been a popular destination in the African continent. Mali was once part of three extremely powerful and wealthy West African empires that controlled trans-Saharan trade, at its peak in 1300, the Mali Empire was the wealthiest country in Africa. Mali has wonderful musicians and some incredible sights, including four UNESCO World Heritage sites and the historic city of Timbuktu. Medieval Mali was a centre of Islam, culture and knowledge, with Timbuktu becoming a renowned place of learning with its university, one of the oldest in the world still active.

Tourism in Mali is focused primarily on its cultural sites, which sets it apart from other African countries with large tourism sector known for their natural features. Mali is a landlocked country in West Africa that offers a rich and diverse cultural heritage, stunning natural wonders and a fascinating history. It’s home to some of the oldest and most impressive monuments in Africa, such as the Great Mosque of Djenné, the Tomb of Askia and the Bandiagara Cliffs.

Mali’s landscapes are equally diverse, ranging from the arid Sahara desert in the north to the lush Niger River valley in the south. Mali is one of the hottest countries in Africa. 65% of the total area of the country is covered by the Sahara. Mali’s borders on the north reach deep into the middle of the Sahara Desert. The country’s southern part is in the Sudanian savanna and both the Niger and Senegal rivers pass through. The country’s economy centres on agriculture and mining. The country’s climate ranges from tropical savannah in the south to arid desert in the north, with the Sahel in between.

Mali’s lifeline is the Niger and most cities and villages are located close to the water. There is a boat that connects the settlements along the river, but the Niger only carries enough water for boats to pass for half of the year. Along the Niger River flows past some of Africa’s unique tribal and architectural wonders, like the camouflaged villages of the cliff-dwelling Dogon people, and the Djenne’s fantastic mud mosque.

Home to the Dogon people is some little village right under the Cliffs, extending for over 170 kilometers up on the plateau, in the rock caves, and down below, where there’s easier access to water and their fields. Dogon Country offers travellers excellent trekking opportunities along the Bandiagara escarpment and insight into one of Mali’s indigenous cultures, while Africa’s northernmost elephant herd can be seen in the Réserve de Douentza.

There is more to Mali than the sand of the Sahara desert. Malian towns, such as Timbuktu and Djenné, have been important centres on the trans-Saharan trading routes for centuries, and the markets still flourish. Mali’s most prominent natural resources include gold as well as salt. At its peak, the Mali empire was the largest in West Africa. The empire’s riches came from mining salt and gold deposits. The expanding trade made it the wealthiest in Africa. The currency of the Mali empire was mostly gold dust but copper, salt, silver and cowries were also commonly used.

Mali is the most endowed in World Heritage sites in Africa. The mosques Djingary Ber and Sankore in Timbuktu, The mosque of Djenne, Dogon Country, the Tomb of Askia in Gao and Jaaral and Degal in Diafarabe and Dialloube were all recognized by the international community through inclusion in UNESCO World Heritage. These prestigious cultural sites added to beautiful landscapes, vibrant and colorful neighborhoods and villages and the central Niger Delta with its earthen architecture and its Ramsar sites that host each year thousands of water birds, the Sahara desert whose beauty, in some places, the excitement grows.

Mali’s people are friendly and hospitable, belonging to various ethnic groups such as the Bambara, Dogon, Fula and Tuareg. By its geographical position, its history and culture, Mali is a tourism and crafts-oriented country. Some traditional buildings in Mali like the mosque constructed using clay mortar and sun-baked bricks, every year residents maintain the building with new clay mortar.

Mali has a rich cultural background and the country celebrates various Festivals throughout the year in different regions: cultural festivals, music festivals, religious festivals, during which discussion forums are organized with the participation of foreigners from all continents. Mali is also known for its vibrant music scene, featuring traditional instruments like the kora and ngoni, as well as modern genres like blues and rap. The Festival of the Desert takes place 60km outside Timbuktu every year in January, and attracts world musicians. The Festival of the Niger in Ségou celebrates the culture along the river with some top musical acts playing every year.

Culture
The culture of Mali derives from the shared experience, as a colonial and post-colonial polity, and the interaction of the numerous cultures which make up the Malian people. What is today the nation of Mali was united first in the medieval period as the Mali Empire. While the current state does not include areas in the southwest, and is expanded far to the east and northeast, the dominant roles of the Mandé people is shared by the modern Mali, and the empire from which its name originates from.

The varied everyday culture of Malians reflects the country’s ethnic and geographic diversity. Most Malians wear flowing, colorful robes called boubous that are typical of West Africa. Malians frequently participate in traditional festivals, dances, and ceremonies. The culture of the Malian people is reflected and maintained alive through different artistry trades, which is the principal source of income from which its people live off of.

Songhay, Bozo, and Dogon people predominate, while the Fula people, formerly nomadic, have settled in patches across the nation. Tuareg and Maure people continue a largely nomadic desert culture, across the north of the nation. The interaction of these communities (along with dozens of other smaller ethnicities) have created a Malian culture, marked by heterogeneity, as well as syntheses where these traditions intermix

Among the most popular trades we find misc with the fabrication of instruments, jewellery and imitation jewelry, leather goods, looms, different vegetable paintings and instruments used for everyday life. The materials utilized are always natural and treated in original form. In Mali, all the products are fabricated through traditional forms, with rudimentary utensils, which require a vast amount of ancestral technical knowledge. The materials utilized are essentially natural, in harmony with the rhythms and demands of the environment in which they live in.

Knowledge is transmitted from parents to children. The ethnic identity is reflected in a trade that defines their belonging and is a space that is occupied in social organizations. This ancestral knowledge which constitutes a vast richness and identity for individuals, has evolved with practice overtime combining the intuition that the noble materials used inspire them and the necessary updates from the forms as a result of the evolution of demand in the market.

Architecture
The architecture of Mali is a distinct subset of Sudano-Sahelian architecture indigenous to West Africa. It comprises adobe buildings such as the Great Mosque of Djenné or the University of Timbuktu. It can be found all over the Sahel region of Africa. Malian architecture developed during the Ghana Empire, which founded most of Mali’s great cities. They then flourished in West Africa’s two greatest civilisations the Mali Empire and the Songhai Empire.

Mosques are a common architectural typology and building program present in Mali. Typically, mosques consist of a prayer space and a mausoleum, merging multiple stages of life into a singular place of worship. In Malian mosque design, the organization is straightforward. These mosques consist of a basic, centralized courtyard, framed by aisles. Prayer halls are located at the ends of this courtyard. Many Malian mosques feature anthropomorphic characteristics that will interpret human bodily movements, typically mimicking praying figures and gestures. Aisles bordering the interior structure represent these bodily positions when one takes a prayer position. More specifically, the minaret represents the head. The centralized courtyard symbolizes the stomach. Galleries at the perimeter of the courtyard represent the feet. Lastly, the aisles serve as the arms. The Great Mosque of Djenné was first built in the 13th century. It is an example of Sudano-Sahelian style and has been an integral part of the Malian community for almost a millennium.

Timbuktu has many adobe and mud brick buildings but the most famous is the University. The masajids (mosques) of Sankore, Djinguereber, and Sidi Yahya were the centres of learning in medieval Mali and produced some of the most famous works in Africa, the Timbuktu Manuscripts. Timbuktu is a city in Mali with very distinguishable architecture. Most of the architecture present in this region is commentary on the history and evolution of human beings. These architectural mosques are organized in a manner referencing bodily movements. Common materials used in construction are natural, earthen materials that also pay homage to its ancestral presence. The “body acts as an organizational template for a building’s interior layout.” Ultimately, these architectural forms are derived from an individual level but align with the cosmos, revealing an intricate spiritual system. Structurally speaking, the architecture has been redefined during the Sonhai reign. Protective, strong materials are utilized to protect the sun-brick adobe structures.

Many of the materials in Mali are derived from its natural surroundings. Many structures are composed of basic earth materials which innately have effective thermodynamic qualities. These material choices allow structures to remain cool throughout the day and hot during the night. This is possible because the brick will absorb heat throughout the hot period of the day, then later radiate it to the interiors as the brick cools down overnight. The cool brick will radiate into the building throughout the day, as the brick heats in the sun. Wooden supports protruding are also a common, defining characteristic of the architecture of Mali. It provides scaffolding for annual replastering events of Mali buildings. These sticks protruding from the larger planes also enable moisture to be wicked away from the bricks. In addition to the practicality of these materials, they also have symbolism. The points of structural intersection align with anatomical and spiritual ideologies present in this region.

Music
Malian musical traditions are often derived from Mande griots or jalis, a family-based caste of performing poets. While today, griots are often seen as praise singers at local weddings or civic events, where historically they served as court historians, advisors, and diplomats. The music of Mali is best known outside of Africa for the kora virtuosos Toumani Diabaté and Ballaké Sissoko, the late roots and blues guitarist Ali Farka Touré, and his successors Afel Bocoum and Vieux Farka Touré, the Tuareg band Tinariwen, and several Afro-pop artists such as Salif Keita, the duo Amadou et Mariam, and Oumou Sangaré.

Very different ethnicities convene in Mali, but the common factors among all of them is art, specifically dance and music. The country is a meeting point among various cultures, Eastern Africa, the Berbers and the sounds of blues from the Bambara region, among others. Throughout history, the Malians have developed a varied pallet of traditional music. Since the 60s, with the independence from France, many of these traditions converted to spectacular genres of popular music: Blues-Rock from the Tuareg and Songhai deserts in the north, Praise music and instrumental virtuosity from the Malinké, Swing from the Wassoulou music from the south and from a rich variety of pentatonic genres.

Traditional music from Mali collects inheritance from the Mande empire, founded 800 years ago. The jelis were formally the ones who taught traditional music and passed it on across generations. The Jelis maintained their profession and knowledge a secret. It wasn’t until very recently that a non-jeli could learn the music and have a profession in the trade. One of the most well known non-jeli is Salif Keïta, who is considered “The African voice of gold” and a direct descendent of the founder of the Mali empire.

Even though Malian musicians received Western instruments and influences, they never lost their personal character. Since the initiation of the Afropop Worldwide radio in 1988, there has been an immense interest in musical variety in Mali. The producers of Afropop continually traveled to the country to meet local artists, not only in cities, but also in rural zones. In fact, many Malian artists are recognized internationally. Mali is the African country with the most artists working for American record labels. Some of the most well known artists are Oumou Sanfaré, Amadou et Marian and Rokia Traoré.

Kora: This is a unique instrument with aspects of the harp and guitar. Composed of 21 cords, a pumpkin, leather and wood. It measures approximately a meter and the pumpkin holds the bridge. Traditionally, the Kora could accompany a spoken history or story about a person or a family. It could also be used during social reunions or parties. Nowadays it is combined with other instruments like synthesizers or electric guitars.
Balafon: Composed by woord for the keyboard and pumpkin resonators. Sound is produced when the tuned bars are hit with two padded mallets, the pumpkin prolongs the vibration and amplifies it. Originally, the balafon was utilized to venerate warriors. Nowadays it is used in ceremonial rites and funerals. In either case, it seems that being able to play the Balafon is reserved primarily for men.
N’taman: It is known as a talking drum, because its sound imitates the tone of a human. It has two bases connected through tightened leather cords, which facilitates the change of tone when it is pressed against an arm or body. This instrument is mostly played by the jelis for cult songs.
Ngoni: This instrument is composed of a body and arm, like the kora. However, the main difference is that here the arm is not assembled with the body, but rather the arm of the ngoni comes out directly from said body. It is also played by the jelis which is accompanied by epic narrations.

Literature
Mali has always been one of Africa’s liveliest intellectual centers. Mali’s literary tradition is largely oral, with jalis reciting or singing histories and stories from memory. Amadou Hampâté Bâ, Mali’s best-known historian, spent much of his life recording the oral traditions of his own Fula teachers, as well as those of Bambara and other Mande neighbors. The best-known novel by a Malian writer is Yambo Ouologuem’s Le devoir de violence, which won the 1968 Prix Renaudot but whose legacy was marred by accusations of plagiarism. It is a dark history of a loosely disguised Bambara Empire, focused on slavery, injustice and suffering.

Massa Makan Diabaté, a descendant of griots, is known in the Francophone world for his work on The Epic of Sundiata as well as his “Kouta trilogy,” a series of realist novels loosely based on contemporary life in his hometown of Kita. Other well-known Malian writers include Baba Traoré, Modibo Sounkalo Keita, Maryse Condé (a native of the French Antilles, has made a career writing about the Bamabara people from whom she descends), Moussa Konaté, and Fily Dabo Sissoko. Ousmane Sembène, a Wolof Senegalese novelist, set half of his novel God’s Bits of Wood in Bamako.

Textiles
One of Mali’s most precious resource is gold. The country has an average production of 70 tons a year. Its abundance drove Malian blacksmiths to create pretty objects to sell in the markets. Malian imitation jewelry reflects the nation’s culture and is inspired in the mythological stories and in the forms of animals and planets. Gold is a metal that is easy to mold and work with, which requires modern equipment and electricity. Aside from gold, artists also utilize nobel materials like silver, bronze, semi precious rock and ebony wood.

Leather and skins have been utilized since remote times and continue the knowledge of their ancestors to fabricate chairs and boots for horseback riding and camels, leather belts, hunter’s bags and saber cases. Through these steps towards modern times, the new generations of leather good makers have modernized themselves to the point of using western designs while conserving traditional African originality. Nowadays, 20% of Malian artists make a living from leather and skin goods.

Natural dyes are the colors obtained from vegetables and other natural pigments extracted from plants which obtain pugnet color ranges, and when clay is applied over womens the color black is obtained. This technique has been utilized since ancestral times and continues in force today. The types of fabrics, from which the Malians make their clothing, are baila, bogolanfini and gala. The drawings on them reflect symbols with significant means that are utilized like messages.

Bògòlanfini (“mud cloth”), a handmade cotton fabric, traditionally dyed with fermented mud, has an important place in traditional Malian culture, and has more recently, become a symbol of Malian cultural identity. The cloth is being exported worldwide for use in fashion, fine art, and decoration. Articles like covers for pillows, curtains, bags, scarfs, etc., are embroidered with 100% organic African cotton. In Bamako a Femenin Cooperative is constituted and specializes in all types of crochet works.

Cuisine
Malian cuisine varies regionally. Rice and millet are the staples of Malian cuisine, which is heavily based on cereal grains. Other popular dishes include fufu, jollof rice, and maafe. Grains are generally prepared with sauces made from a variety of edible leaves, such as spinach or baobab, with tomato peanut sauce, and may be accompanied by pieces of grilled meat (typically chicken, mutton, beef, pork, or goat). Loco “plantains” are eaten most of the time along with tea.

The most universal Malian dish is rice with sauce, often peanut “tiga diga na,” tomato/onion/oil or leaf/okra based which is usually served some fish or meat if purchased or prepared for guests. “To”, a gelatinous corn or millet food served with sauce, is another Malian classic, though more a village food than something most tourists would encounter. In the north, couscous is also quite common.

Top Destinations

UNESCO World Heritage Sites
Mali has four UNESCO World Heritage Sites, including the well known city of Timbuktu. This has been on the UNESCO list since 2012, which the organisation describes as “an intellectual and spiritual capital and a centre for the propagation of Islam throughout Africa in the 15th and 16th centuries, its three great mosques, Djingareyber, Sankore and Sidi Yahia, recall Timbuktu’s golden age. Although continuously restored, these monuments are today under threat from desertification.” The other three include Bandiagara Escarpment, Djenné and the Tomb of Askia.

Southern Mali

Kayes
Capital of the first administrative region, Kayes was also the capital of the French Sudan during the colonial era. Located on the Senegal River and bordered by the Tambaoura mountains, Kayes still has many European style buildings and Boulevards. In Kayes, one can visit the Fort of Medine, the Baoulé National Park, the Bafing Fauna reserve; bask in numerous lakes and waterfalls

Prior to French colonial expansion, Kayes was a small village. Its location on the path of the future Dakar-Niger Railway, and the French need for trade centers, led to the creation of the Kayes market town in 1881. It remains a transport hub, primarily for Senegalese trade, to this day. In 1892, Kayes became the capital of the French Sudan; Bamako replaced it as the capital, first of the state of Haut Sénégal-Niger on October 17, 1899, then as the capital of all of French Sudan in 1908. The city is dotted with symbols of colonization.

A concentrate of all types of tourism, Kayes has many sites and curiosities which are among others: the Colonial Buildings, the Island of Modinkané located 12km from the town of Kayes, the Tata de Koniakary 75 km from Kayes, the Chutes du Felou at 17km, the Gouina Falls at 80km, the town of Toukoto at 250km, the town of Kita at 394km, the Kita kourou at kita, the Sacred Vestibule of the griots of Boudefo, the Statue of the Virgin Mary, the Reserve du Bafing, the Baoulé loop, the Senegal River which allows you to take a cruise.

Koulikoro
Koulikoro is a town and urban commune in Mali. With a Millennial Civilization, the region very rich because of its glorious past, this region was the cradle of West African civilization with two Great Empires: Ouagadou and Mali, whose influence has gone beyond African borders. Today, the second administrative region of Mali, Koulikoro is an industrial zone where several factories are located: the Huilerie Cotonnière du Malin; the Naval Construction Industry of Mali, the Grand Moulin du Mali, the Brasserie du Mali, the Cotton Ginning Factory.

Koulikoro is known thanks to Nianan Kulu, an imposing site where Soundiata KEITA, founder of the Empire of Mali, distinguished himself during the battle against Soumangourou Kanté, the sorcerer king of Sosso who would have disappeared there. Statue of Babemba Traoré, king of the Kénédougou kingdom during the last years of the 19th century when the kingdom was involved in heavy battle against the advancing French colonial army. Koulikoro is also the location of a prison. The Koulikoro prison is noteworthy for housing a number of former Rwandan officers found guilty of having taken part in the Rwandan genocide.

Mopti
At the confluence of the Niger River and its tributary the Bani, Mopti originates from Bozo camps dating from the 12th century. It quickly spread over islands linked by dikes. Crossroads of the ethnic groups of the river, the north, the central savannas and the Dogon cliffs, Mopti commonly called “Malian Venice” because of its insular situation is a prosperous city, full of movements and noise. This island has one of the busiest port on the Niger River, It is the region of tourism ‘ par excellence’. Mopti is one of the main ports in Mali, and a good gateway for many of the country’s most impressive attractions such as Djenné, Timbuktu, and Dogon Country.

Most of Mali’s travel riches are concentrated in this region: unique rock formations at Hombori, the architecture of Djenné, and the unbelievable escarpment villages of Dogon Country. The Komoguel Mosque is an example of Sudano-Sahelian architecture. The design was based on that of the Great Mosque of Djenné and is constructed using sun-dried mud bricks which are covered with a layer of banco. Mopti is the region’s commercial center and Mali’s most important port; markets around its harbour sell rock salt from Taoudenni, among many other goods. Fishing, herding, and agriculture (particularly rice production) also continue to be important to the local economy.

Djenné
Djenné, the oldest known city in sub-Saharan Africa is situated on the floodlands of the Niger and Bani rivers. Djenné is famous for its mosque, which is the biggest mudbrick building in the world. The city has been recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site as a market centre and an important link in the trans-Saharan gold trade.

Djenné is a religious city founded at the dawn of the 9th century which produced scholars in the Muslim world including Mohamed Bagayoko. The city offers to the glances the splendid architecture of its two-storey houses built in mud and pediment, rare example in Africa of a site entirely preserved from the ravages of time and predatory modernism.

The history of Djenné is closely linked with that of Timbuktu. Between the 15th and 17th centuries much of the trans-Saharan trade in goods such as salt, gold, and slaves that moved in and out of Timbuktu passed through Djenné. Both towns became centres of Islamic scholarship. Djenné’s prosperity depended on this trade and when the Portuguese established trading posts on the African coast, the importance of the trans-Saharan trade and thus of Djenné declined.

The city is the jewel of the Niger River, and is home to the World’s largest mudbrick mosque design by the famous architect Ibn Batouta. The mosque is refinished annually during a city-wide celebration in April. While in Djenné, one should visit the vibrant Monday market, the wells of Nana Wangara built by the Moroccans in the 16th century, the Grande Mosquee, and the old town.

Djenné, the twin sister of Timbuktu: On the Niger River, two cities by their intellectual and political importance, by their wealth born of trade, the luster of their scholars, the beauty of their monuments that have come down to our generation, have conquered a celebrity that even today the visitor will not find spoofed. These two cities are Timbuktu and Djenné which it has been said in Mali that they are like two halves of the same city. This city flourishing and prosperous, its inhabitants of Djenné are benevolent, kind and hospitable.

Djenné is famous for its Sudanese-style architecture. Nearly all of the buildings in the town, including the Great Mosque, are made from sun-baked earthen bricks which are coated with plaster. The traditional flat-roofed two-storey houses are built around a small central courtyard and have imposing façades with pilaster like buttresses and an elaborate arrangement of pinnacles forming the parapet above the entrance door. The façades are decorated with bundles of rônier palm (Borassus aethiopum) sticks, called toron, that project about 60 cm from the wall. The toron also serve as readymade scaffolding. Ceramic pipes also extend from the roofline and ensure that the rain water from the roof does not damage the walls.

Some of the houses built before 1900 are in the Toucouleur-style and have a massive covered entrance porch set between two large buttresses. These houses generally have a single small window onto the street set above the entrance door. Many of the more recent two-storey houses are in the Moroccan-style and have small ornate windows but lack the covered entrance porch. The adobe bricks are made on the river bank using a wooded mold and a mixture of earth and chopped straw. They are typical 36 x 18 x 8 cm in size and when laid are separated by 2 cm of mortar. Up to the 1930s hand molded cylindrical bricks were used called djenné-ferey. All the brickwork is covered with a protective layer of plaster consisting of a mixture of earth and rice husks. In Djenné the adobe buildings need to be replastered at least every other year and even then the annual rains can cause serious damage. The Great Mosque is replastered every year.

No impression is as strong as the one felt by the traveler who arrives on a Monday, market day in Djenné, around noon the merciless light blazes the colors of the boubous and the clamor of the crowd fills the space in front of the famous mosque of Djenné. It has a prayer space of 50 m by 26 m, an interior courtyard, 104 ventilation and ventilation holes and 99 pillars that support the roof, making this mosque the largest earthen building in the world. The great Mosque of Djenné is the subject of an annual plastering ceremony which brings together the whole city and its surroundings for two days.

The town is famous for its distinctive adobe architecture, the best known house is that of the Maiga family who supply the town’s tradition chief. This old building with its Toucouleur-style entrance porch is in the Algasba district on the eastern side of the town. René Caillé visited the house in 1828. Other attractions include the tomb of Tapama Djenepo, who in legend was sacrificed on the founding of the city, and the remains of Djenné-Jéno, an important settlement from the 3rd century BC until the 13th century AD. The weekly Monday market, when buyers and sellers converge on the town from the surrounding regions, is a key tourist attraction. There is also a daily market that takes place in a courtyard opposite the mosque.

Dogon country
The Dogon are best known for their mythology, their mask dances, wooden sculpture and their architecture. Dogon country is vast, and lies southwest of the Niger River belt. The region is composed of three zones: the plateau, the escarpment and the Seno-Gondo plain. Starting from the Niger River in a south-eastern direction, towards Burkina Faso, we successively meet three types of landscapes in Dogon country: plateau, cliff and plain.

Dogon country is a diverse ethnic group in West Africa with diverse languages. The Dogons are a proud people whose culture is considered to be one of the richest and oldest in Africa. Renowned for its secluded villages embedded on cliffs that are up to 500 m tall which were inscribed as an UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1989. These are near the city of Bandiagara. This historic region belongs to the Mopti Region and extends on either side of the Bandiagara Escarpment.

The Dogon country is undoubtedly the most picturesque region of Mali, beauty and diversity, the architectural style of the houses, the way of life of the inhabitants are all unforgettable attractions. Located in the Mopti region, the Dogon country offers spectacular cliffs, breathtaking views, vast plains and mystical cosmology. The scenic Dogon villages are built on the sides of the cliffs. The well-preserved culture and villages of the Dogon people is a must-see for any visitor to Mali.

From Mopti, the entrance to the Dogon country evokes the entrance to a temple. The geography itself allows the comparison: rising chaotically from the lowlands of Macina to break into a peak which dominates the plain of the gondo -séno: it is the cliff of Bandiagara. The Bandiagara region is a vast sandstone plateau rising gradually from the river to the cliff. It is on this plateau that Bandiagara, the “capital” of Dogon country is established.

Bandiagara Escarpment with its often almost vertical wall faces Burkina Faso. With a height varying from 100 to around 400 m, it overlooks the Seno plain, which is between 250 and 300 m above sea level. It is about 200 km long and oriented from southwest to northeast starting from Ségué in the south, and ending in Douentza in the north. The altitude increases from south to north until it reaches 791 m near Bamba, Koro. Located at the foot of the cliff, the Séno-Gondo plain stretches to the Burkinabé border.

Listed as a world cultural and natural heritage of humanity by UNESCO since 1989, the Dogon country is like a temple which one can only enter if one has patiently initiated oneself to admit the radical strangeness of a universe cultural whose values ​​are based on an extraordinarily complex and rich philosophy and religion. Here, the natural universe is no less difficult to access than the cultural universe. Sangha is only the pre-style of the temple, whose most secret and beautiful chapels are nestled in the hollows of the cliff.

The Dogon country has many vestiges of ancient habitat from successive periods of occupation. From the ancient Toloy and Tellem, to the Dogon. The Dogon religion is the traditional African beliefs of the Dogon of Mali. eneration of the ancestors forms an important aspect of Dogon religion. They hold ritual mask dances immediately after the death of a person and sometimes long after they have passed on to the next life.

The mask dance in Dogon country is sacred. Originally, in African civilizations all dances are linked to religious rites. Among the Dogons, the dance of masks is exclusively a matter for men. The Dogon ballet, composed of a variable number of dancers, includes an immutably fixed number of kinds of masks among which, the kanaga “mask of the Gods” which even became the emblem of Mali at a given time.

Segou
Segou is often considered to be the second city of Mali, and is certainly one of the most important ports in Mali. The city of the Balanzan trees (Acacia Albida) has well preserved its Sudanese colonial architecture. Ségou, the land of shea butter, it is also known for its pottery and cloth markets. Segou was the heart of the powerful Bambara kingdom, which very warlike, Ségou was conquered in 1862 by Toucouleur El Hadj Omar TALL and occupied in 1891 by the French Archinard.

The Bambaras used to transmit their knowledge by oral tradition, hence much of their art and culture is unknown. Ségou’s cultural heritage includes traditional musical instruments, wonderful griots, folkloric groups and the traditional masks and marionettes. The history of the Bambara state’s traditional religious practices are ambiguous. These dances are performed alone or accompanied by masks and puppets. They practice animism and fetishism as cultural practices, and also totemic and monism (cult of ancestors).

The most famous Ségou handcrafts are based on pottery, weaving (blankets, wrappers and carpets), manufacturing of Bogolan (a distinctive variation of Mud cloth), painting and sculpture. Ségou is also regarded as the capital of Malian pottery with a large pottery district in Kalabougou situated on the left bank. Women make the pottery by hand with the clay coming from the Niger River and bring the finished works to the local Monday market. The most well-known festival in Ségou is the annual Festival on the Niger. This festival celebrates music and the arts and culture of the Bambara people, and includes the Caravane culturelle de la paix.

Sikasso
Capital of the ancient kingdom of Kenedougou, Sikasso is the economic heart of the country, thanks to the cotton and other agricultural production. Lush landscapes and historical sites are not to be missed. The kingdom of Kénédougou of kings Tiéba and Babemba TRAORE and the empire of Wassoulou with Almamy Samori TOURE marked the history of the resistance of Sikasso against colonial penetration. Cultural city, Sikasso is home to mask dances, the triangular balafon festival, traditional events and musical expressions of Wassoulou.

Sikasso was a small village until 1870, when Tieba Traoré, whose mother came from Sikasso, became Faama of the Kénédougou Kingdom and moved the capital there.  He established his palace on the sacred Mamelon hill (now home to a water tower) and constructed a massive tata to defend against the attacks of both the Malinke conqueror Samori Ture and the French colonial army. This made Sikasso the largest fortified city ever built in west Africa.

In contrast to other parts of Mali, Sikasso has a subtropical climate and there are plenty of fruit and vegetables throughout the year. It’s the only region that stays green year around. Sikasso’s fruit and vegetable production guarantees the city’s self-sufficiency, sparing it from reliance on international food aid. In modern-day Sikasso, attractions include the large market, Mamelon hill, the remains of Tieba Traoré’s tata, and the nearby Missirikoro Grotto. The festival Triangle du balafon takes place every June, celebrating the traditional Malian instrument.

Bamako
Bamako is the political and administrative capital of the Republic of Mali. The streets of the city of Bamako are lively, active and colorful. Bamako is charming, authentic and traditional at the same time. The city has modern and expanding tourist infrastructure. Bamako, the capital city is the melting pot of the various ethnic groups of the country. Shady, pleasant and welcoming, Bamako is one of the most traditional African capitals.

In recent years, Bamako has seen significant urban development, with the construction of modern buildings, shopping malls, and infrastructure projects aimed at improving the quality of life for its residents. The city is home to many notable institutions such as the University of Bamako, the National Museum of Mali, the Mali National Zoo, the Grand Mosque of Bamako, and the Modibo Keita International Airport. Locally manufactured goods include textiles, processed meat, and metal goods as well as mining. Commercial fishing occurs on the Niger River.

The buildings of Bamako have a unique architectural style. The BCEAO Tower at 20 stories is the tallest building in the West African nation. It sits on the north bank of the River Niger in the city centre. The BCEAO Tower is the Malian headquarters of the Central Bank of West African States, which provides development banking and government financial and currency services in several Francophone West African nations. Classified as Neo-Sudanic architecture, it is modeled on the Sudano-Sahelian architecture of the famous mosques of Djenne and Timbuktu. The building is located in the busy Commune III neighbourhood, where “Avenue Moussa Tavele” meets the waterside boulevard between the two main Bamako bridges: King Fahd Bridge a block west and Martyrs Bridge three blocks east.

Just to the east of the BCEAO complex, a park and formal garden mark where the diagonally running “Boulevard du Peuple” reaches the river. By contrast, small market gardens and launching points or river canoes lie along the river front. The Cité Administrative is a complex of buildings located just west of the northern end of the King Fahd Bridge. The complex was begun in 2003 by then President Konaré with the help of funding from the government of Libya. The 10-hectare (25-acre) Cité Administrative was completed in 2010 and houses many of the offices of the government.

Sights include: National Museum: Collection of tools, masks statues, as well as lithographic material from the -prehistoric cave of point G; Women’s Museum-Muso Kounda: art and handicrafts by women; La maison des artisans: Handicrafts center; Scenic view from Koulouba; Zoo and surrounding 17 hectares; Prehistoric caves; Marche Rose; Boucle du Baoule National Park; Bafing Faunal Reserve.

Bamako is known for its vibrant music scene, with various genres such as Malian blues, traditional music, and Afrobeat flourishing in Bamako. Many renowned Malian musicians and bands have emerged from the city. Some notable artists are Salif Keita, Oumou Sangaré, Ali Farka Touré, Toumani Diabaté and Amadou & Mariam.

Northern Mali

Gao
For much of its history Gao was an important commercial centre involved in the trans-Saharan trade. Gao was founded in the 7th century as a trading post, but it was during the 15th and 16th centuries that the city flourished and its height was the center of the Songhai Empire. Bordering Niger, this region has ethnic Songhai, Tuareg, Tadaksahak, and Zarma. The Tuaregs and Songhai inhabitants of Gao are known for their gourmet, their hospitality and famous Touareg jewelry.

In the 9th century external Arabic writers described Gao as an important regional power,[3] and by the end of the 10th century, the local ruler was said to be a Muslim. Towards the end of the 13th century, Gao became part of the Mali Empire. In the first half of the 15th century the town regained its independence. With the conquests of Sunni Ali (ruled 1464–1492) it became the capital of the Songhai Empire. The Empire collapsed after the Moroccan invasion in 1591 and the invaders chose to make Timbuktu their capital.

Constructed in 1495 by Songhai emperor Askia Mohamed Toure, the Askia Tomb (known locally as the Askia Mosque) is a mud-brick pyramid designed to look like the Great Pyramids of Egypt, which Mohamed saw on his pilgrimage to Mecca. Today it is still used as a mosque and is a UNESCO World Heritage site. La Dune Rose is a giant sand dune across the river from Gao, named for its glowing pink color at sunrise and sunset. Best reached by pirogue. The top has beautiful views of the surrounding landscape, especially after the rainy season.

Kidal
Kidal is pure Sahara, with its chains of beautiful mountains. Mali’s most remote Saharan region, with a small population of Tuareg nomads, and the incredibly remote annual Saharan Nights festival in Essouk. The “blue men” of the desert, the dance of the camels, the rich handicrafts of the Touareg people and the 12th century cave paintings of tadamaket all add to the charm of this mysterious place. People live there from livestock and handicrafts production.

Timbuktu
Timbuktu is a wonderful city in the northern part of Mali. It was once the capital of the Mali Empire, and home to Mansa Musa, the king of the Mali Empire who is regarded as the richest person in history. Its long history as a trading outpost that linked Africa below the Sahara Desert with Berber and Islamic traders throughout north Africa, and thereby indirectly with traders from Europe, has given it a fabled status.

This city has a great historical significance because it was founded back in the 12th century. Also known as the ‘mysterious city’ Timbuktu is the capital of the sixth administrative region of Mali. In the year 1988 it was given the honor of a world heritage site. Long a legendary destination for adventurers, “Timbuktu” has come to be used as a metaphor for exotic, distant lands. Timbuktu, the pearl of the desert, the Athens of Africa acquired from the outset an indefinable mystery.

Timbuktu began as a seasonal settlement and became permanent early in the 12th century. After a shift in trading routes, particularly after the visit by Mansa Musa around 1325, Timbuktu flourished, due to its strategic location, from the trade in salt, gold, and ivory. It gradually expanded as an important Islamic city on the Saharan trade route and attracted many scholars and traders before it became part of the Mali Empire early in the 14th century. In the first half of the 15th century, the Tuareg people took control for a short period, until the expanding Songhai Empire absorbed it in 1468.

A Moroccan army defeated the Songhai in 1591 and made Timbuktu their capital. The invaders established a new ruling class, the Arma, who after 1612 became virtually independent of Morocco. In its golden age, the town’s Islamic scholars and extensive trade network supported an important book trade. Together with the campuses of the Sankore Madrasah, an Islamic university, this established Timbuktu as a scholarly centre in Africa. Notable historic writers, such as Shabeni and Leo Africanus, wrote about the city. These stories fuelled speculation in Europe, where the city’s reputation shifted from being rich to mysterious. The city’s golden age as a major learning and cultural centre of the Mali Empire was followed by a long period of decline.

This unprecedented crossroads, five centuries ago when traders from the Sahara, savannas and forests exchanged metals, salt, spices, fabrics, food products, still remains today the rallying point of all enthusiasts and of a trade still active. After a flawless influence of several centuries well beyond the limits of the Muslim world, Timbuktu retains the rich hours of its grandiose past. Thousands of manuscripts, handed down from generation to generation, remain in the libraries of its Islamic university.

Timbuktu continues to entice travelers from across the world, who come, eager to uncover its mysteries and discover its cultural heritage. Among others: The Ahmed Baba Center: an institute for higher Islamic studies with a collection of many books from the 14th century.; Family libraries: containing precious manuscripts handed down over generations. Timbuktu is home of the largest and oldest ancient manuscript collection;

Sankoré University is housed within the Sankoré mosque, and is one of the oldest universities in the world. Sankoré was founded in 989 by the chief judge of Timbuktu, and became a significant seat of learning in the Muslim world, particularly under the reign of Mansa Musa and then the Askia Dynasty (1493-1591). Students came from around the world, and in the 12th century Sankoré had an attendance of 25,000 students (in a city of only 100,000 people). The University was known for its high standards and admission requirements. While its achievements in higher education are important to Islamic civilization, they are perhaps even more important as a source of pride to humanity.

Built in clay, the mosque Djinguereber is one of three major mosques in Timbuktu built between the twelfth and fifteenth century, then the most opulent of the city. The Djinguere Ber Mosque, built in 1328 under the patronage of Mansa Musa, the wealthy ruler of the Mali Empire, served as a testament to the city’s prosperity during this golden age. Mansa Musa’s legendary pilgrimage to Mecca, during which he distributed vast amounts of gold, contributed to the construction of the mosque and cemented Timbuktu’s reputation as a centre of Islamic culture and learning. Over the centuries, the Djinguere Ber mosque has undergone various renovations and extensions, reflecting the changing architectural styles and religious practices of the region.

The Sankore Mosque, built between 1325 and 1463, played a central role in Timbuktu’s intellectual and educational landscape. As the city flourished as a centre of Islamic learning, the Sankore Mosque became a renowned centre of learning, attracting scholars and students from across the Muslim world. Its libraries housed thousands of manuscripts on subjects ranging from theology to astronomy, contributing to Timbuktu’s reputation as a centre of intellectual exchange and cultural diversity.

The Sidi Yahya mosque, founded in 1440 by the revered marabout Sheikh al-Mukhtar Hamallah, held both religious and mystical significance for the people of Timbuktu. According to local legend, the mosque awaited the arrival of Sidi Yahya al-Tadlissi, a saint whose presence would sanctify the site. When Sidi Yahya claimed the mosque forty years later, it became a focal point for spiritual devotion and pilgrimage. Over time, the mosque underwent several renovations and refurbishments, reflecting the changing religious and cultural landscape of Timbuktu.

The best-known cultural event in Timbuktu is the Festival au Désert. The Festival au Désert, to celebrate the peace treaty, was held every January in the desert, 75 km from the city. The week-long festival of Mawloud is held every January, and celebrates the birthday of Muhammed; the city’s “most cherished manuscripts” are read publicly, and are a central part of this celebration. It was originally a Shi’ite festival from Persia and arriving in Timbuktu around 1600. The “most joyful occasion on Timbuktu’s calendar”, it combines “rituals of Sufi Islam with celebrating Timbuktu’s rich literary traditions”.