Sights in Mali
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Centre de Recherches Historiques Ahmed Baba
An amazing collection of ancient manuscripts and books are kept at the Centre de Recherches Historiques Ahmed Baba. Home to (at last count) 23,000 Islamic religious, historical and scientific texts from all over the world, the centre is the focus of a South African-funded project to protect, translate and catalogue the manuscripts.
The oldest manuscripts date from the 12th century, but there are countless other priceless works, including some of the few written histories of Africa's great empires, and works of scholarship carried to Timbuktu from Granada after Muslims were expelled from al-Andalus in 1492. Documented family histories (often over 400 years old) of…
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Grande Mosquée
Djenné's elegant Grande Mosque was constructed in 1907, though it's based on the design of an older Grande Mosquée that once stood on the site. Famous throughout the world, the Grande Mosquée has dazzled travellers for centuries - much as it does today.
It was first built in 1280, after Koi Konboro - the 26th king of Djenné - converted to Islam. It remained intact until the early 19th century when the fundamentalist Islamic warrior-king, Cheikou Amadou, let it fall to ruin. The modern form - a classic of Sahel-style (or Sudanese) mud-brick architecture - is faithful to the original design, which served as a symbol of Djenné's wealth and cultural significance.
The…
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Dyingerey Ber Mosque
Timbuktu has three of the oldest mosques in West Africa. While not as visually stunning as some in Mali, they're still extremely impressive and represent classic and well-preserved examples of the Sudanese style of architecture which prevails throughout much of the Sahel. The oldest, dating from the early 14th century, is Dyingerey Ber Mosque.
You can go into this mosque, west of Place de l'Indépendance, but sometimes only with a guide. The interior is a forest of 100 sturdy pillars, and there are a series of interconnecting rooms with holes in the wall at ground level - in the days before microphones, worshippers who could not hear the imam could look through into the…
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Grand Marché
Every Monday, the wide open area in front of the mosque is transformed into the clamorous Monday Market, which has barely changed since the days when Saharan camel caravans brought salt across the sands to the gates of Djenné. Thousands of traders and customers come from miles around, and many of these itinerant traders follow the calendar of local market days in the region's villages, their week culminating in Djenné.
Most arrive the night before, and by 06:00 on market day traders are already staking out the best sites (ie those with shade). By mid- to late-morning (the best time to visit the market), the open square in front of the mosque is filled with traders…
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Massina
From the pleasant Fula village of Massina, you can start a trip along the Niger by public pinasse (large canoe). A good first stop is Diafarabé, where vast Fula herds cross the Niger in one of West Africa's most picturesque annual rituals.
Every late December or early January (the exact date of the crossing is not set until November because much depends on water levels), Diafarabé (and other places along the Niger with large Fula populations) is transformed into a hive of activity as hundreds of thousands of cows are driven southwards and across the Niger to greener pastures.
The crossing, known as Dewgal, dates back almost 200 years and is a happy time for the Fula…
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Jenné-Jeno
About 3km from Djenné are the ruins of Jenné-Jeno, an ancient settlement that dates back to about 300 BC. Implements and jewellery discovered here suggest that it may have been one of the first places in Africa where iron was used, and exposed the myth that no organised cities existed in West Africa before trade began and external influences were brought to bear upon it.
In the 8th century AD, Jenné-Jeno was a fortified town with walls 3m thick, but around 1300 it was abandoned. Today, there's nothing much to see - some mounds and millions of tiny pieces of broken pottery - so a visit is of greater historical rather than aesthetic interest.
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La Dune Rose
Gao's premier tourist attraction is a sunset trip to La Dune Rose, known locally as Koïma, a wonderful sand dune on the right bank of the Niger, visible from town. As it turns pink with the setting sun, there is magic in the air, not least because it was once believed by locals to be the home of magicians.
If you're coming here (only possible from September to February when water levels allow), consider also hiring a pirogue to drift further along the river as the dunes come alive. Upstream at Quema and Hondo (a three-hour trip) there are more stunning dunes, while you're almost guaranteed hippo sightings at Tacharan.
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Musée National
The Musée National houses a stunning collection of masks, statues, textiles, archaeological artefacts and a fine model of the Djenné mosque. The grounds are tranquil, and the excellent bookshop and restaurant make it relaxing place to spend an afternoon. French and English-speaking guides can be arranged.
The museum holds an impressive collection of Dogon masks and there are also hats and loincloths belonging to the mysterious Tellum, the small people who once inhabited the Bandiagara escarpment.
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Heinrich Barth's House
Heinrich Barth's incredible five-year journey began in Tripoli and took him first to Agadez, then through Nigeria and finally, in September 1853, he reached Timbuktu disguised as a Tuareg. He stayed for the best part of a year before narrowly escaping with his life and eventually returning to Europe. East of Sidi Yahiya Mosque, Heinrich Barth's House, where he stayed, is now a tiny museum containing reproductions of Barth's drawings and extracts of his writings.
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Dyingerey Ber Mosque
Of Timbuktu's three great mosques, Dyingerey Ber is the oldest, dating from the early 14th century. The interior is a forest of 100 sturdy pillars, and there are a series of interconnecting rooms with holes in the walls through which worshippers, unable to hear the imam, could look through into the main prayer hall to see when to pray.
You can go into this mosque, west of Place de l'Indépendance, but sometimes only with a guide.
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Ethnological Museum
The Ethnological Museum occupies a hugely significant site near Sidi Yahiya Mosque, containing the well of Bouctou, where Timbuktu was founded. There's also a variety of exhibits including clothing, musical instruments, jewellery and games, as well as interesting colonial photographs and pictures of the ancient rock carvings at Tin-Techoun, which have since been stolen or destroyed.
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Ségou Koro
During the 18th century, the beautiful village of Ségou Koro was the centre of Biton Mamary Coulibaly's Bambara empire and the great man is buried here. Its crumbling Bambara buildings are interspersed with three ancient mosques (including one right on the riverbank) which are compact and pleasing. Introduce yourself to the chief who collects the tourist tax.
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Tomb of the Askia
The Tomb of the Askia, north of town, was built in 1495 by Askia Muhammad Touré, whose remains lie within. It's an amazing building and a classic of Sudanese (Sahelian) architecture, with its combination of mud-brick, wooden struts and a tapering tower. It may be possible to climb the 10m-high tomb for good views of the city and river.
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Marché Souguni
At the Marché Souguni, to the southeast of town, traders sell fruit, vegetables, salt, fish and meat downstairs and art and crafts upstairs. A smaller market sells herbs, spices, traditional medicines and food stuff, and nearby is a small Bobo bar which features bellaphone music and millet beer.
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Djenné's Monday Mosque Market
This colourful market takes place in front of Djenné's fairytale mud mosque, the largest mud-built structure in the world. By mid- to late-morning, Djenné is awash with traders selling everything from cloth to calabashes, spices to spaghetti, pottery to pungent local foods and prize goats.
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Sankoré Mosque
Timbuktu's three great mosques - all inaccessible to non-Muslims - are nothing much to look at, but serve as reminders of its great past. The youngest of the three, Sankoré Mosque was raised at the turn of the 16th century. It also functioned as a university and an important centre of learning.
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Sidi Yahiya Mosque
Sidi Yahiya Mosque, north of Place de l'Indépendance, is named after one of the city's saints (it's said that 333 saints have lived in Timbuktu) and was constructed in 1400. Non-Muslims are not allowed to enter, and from the outside it's the least interesting of Timbuktu's main mosques.
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Misire Mosquée
The classic Sahel-style Misire Mosquée, built in 1933, towers over the old part of town. Just before the rains in May or June the lower, mud-covered part of the mosque is re-rendered. The mosque is off-limits to non-Muslims, but money can buy you a good view from a nearby rooftop.
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Flamme de la Paix
On the northwestern outskirts of town, the striking Flamme de la Paix monument is worth visiting. It was built on the spot where 3000 weapons were ceremonially burnt at the end of the Tuareg rebellion. The monument is where Timbuktu meets the desert, so continue on to enter the dunes.
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Marché de Medina
The charm of this market is that few tourists reach here, so you're unlikely to be hassled. It's also a good place to buy second-hand clothes and if you have a few hours spare, you can get your hair braided or your hands and feet decorated with henna in the 'beauty parlour' section.
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Musée National
The Musée National is small but nevertheless contains some beautiful ethnographic pieces from many of Mali's ethnic groups, including wooden masks, carvings, contemporary marionettes and ancient textiles. French and English-speaking guides can be arranged.
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Mopti Port
Mopti's port is a lively place, where boats from up and down the river unload their cargoes. You'll see slabs of salt from Timbuktu, dried fish, firewood, pottery, goats, chickens and much more. Boat building happens next to Restaurant Bar Bozo.
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Tapama Dienepo
On the southern edge of town is Tapama Dienepo, the tomb of a young girl sacrificed here (she volunteered, according to locals) in the 9th century, after a local religious leader decided the town was corrupt.
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Fetish Stalls
The Fetish Stalls, near the Maison des Artisans, are not for the faint-hearted, offering up a stomach-turning array of bones, skins, dried chameleons and rotting monkey heads.
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Grand Marché
The Grand Marché is the large covered building in the centre of town. It's not particularly grand, but it's busy and not a bad place to buy slabs of salt.
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