Sights in Southern Burkina Faso
- Sort by:
- Popular
-
A
Grande Mosquée
The Grande Mosquée, built in 1893, is an outstanding example of Sahel-style mud architecture, with conical towers and wooden struts (which both support the structure and act as scaffolding during replastering). Although entry is forbidden for non-Muslims, it's the exterior that is so captivating, especially at sunset when the façade turns golden and the faithful pass by on their way home or to the neighbouring well, often pausing for prayer in the mosque en route.
A powerful sense of community life revolves around the mosque. The quiet and shady grounds in the immediate vicinity are interspersed with shelters and prayer mats for worshippers, and add to the charm of one …
reviewed
-
B
Grand Marché
Bobo-Dioulasso's centrepiece, the expansive Grand Marché, is hugely enjoyable and atmospheric, and a wonderful (and largely hassle-free) place to experience a typical African city market.
Occupying the inner circle are the fruit and vegetable stalls, watched over by colourfully clad women and surrounded by the overwhelming odours of the fish and meat sections. From here to the market's outer rim, impossibly narrow and labyrinthine lanes and makeshift stalls stock household wares and an excellent selection of African cotton prints - as well as reasonably priced tailors who can make clothing from them in a flash. There's a small choice of masks, drums and objects in bronze…
reviewed
-
C
Musée Provincial du Houët
This small but interesting museum showcases masks, statues and ceremonial dress from all over Burkina Faso. In the grounds are three traditional houses, each furnished in the style of its inhabitants: a Bobo house in red banco (mud-brick); a Fulani hut of branches and woven straw; and a small Senoufo (a Voltaic people who settled in northern Côte d'Ivoire and southern Burkina Faso 400 years ago) compound.
reviewed
-
Musée de la Musique
This is small but recommended for those with an emerging passion for African music, as well as those keen to learn the difference between a balafon and djembe. Most of the instruments on display (labels in French only) come from western Burkina Faso (especially from Lobi country). There's a small shop selling CDs of local traditional music which you won't find elsewhere.
reviewed
