Djenne, Mali
Djenne is not on the main route from Bamako through Segou, Mopti and Timbuktu;
a side trip from Mopti is required to reach it. Djenne is in a normally
wet region that produces rice among other crops, although this year a drought
kept it too dry for rice. Some water is still to be seen, however.
This truck was a full load (or more) for the ferry and we had to wait for
the next trip.
One of Djenne's primary claims to fame is the largest Mosque in the world
made of mud. It is hundreds of years old. Unlike most Mosques,
it is closed to non-Muslims after some forbidden liberties were taken by
some westerners with cameras (one story has it that services were filmed
in secret for a TV documentary, another is that a fashion magazine photographed
models in bikinis inside of the Mosque). Whatever the reason, we
were not able to enter. This view of the Mosque was taken on the
morning of Market Day (the streets are not nearly as full as they will
be):
The ladies below are looking through many colorful bolts of cloth being
offered for sale:
Below are some rooftop views of the city of Djenne. The bottom right
is of our group eating breakfast in the courtyard of our hotel:
While on a walking tour of Djenne we came across a Koranic Schoolmaster
and his pupils:
The schoolmaster is sitting with his back to the wall. In the left
foreground are a number of tablets of Koranic inscriptions written in Arabic.
While by no means unique to Djenne, I did get some photos of the sewage
system in this city, which is basically just open channels:
Next stop in the tour:
Dogon Country
Or you can skip to:
Home
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Mopti
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