Back in July, I was on a brief journey through parts of the Sahel, the region between the Atlantic and the Red Sea, just below the Sahara. Like a belt across the widest part of Africa.



The Sahel includes Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, Chad, Sudan and South Sudan.

This huge, scorching area has a rich history and complex cultures, and, let’s be frank, a whole set of challenges. Still! I am drawn to the curious places. That is what Sophie’s World is about. Have to see it for myself. But how to see the Sahel?

How to see these enigmatic and challenging countries? I have been pondering that for a while. It is not a part of the world I would like to travel solo, at least not the first time. Then I stopped thinking about it for a while. Something would probably turn up. And it did.

Anyone want to join?

On a trip in the Central African Republic this spring, out of nowhere, a message appeared. Ben, a Brit, then unknown to me, planned to travel through the Sahel in July. Anyone want to join? Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and Chad were on the agenda, and he knew a fixer who would take care of all the practicals.

It would be a brief journey, only two nights in each country. It kinda had to be. This is a complicated region to travel through, and safety is a particular concern in all four countries. All have severe travel warnings from even the most relaxed foreign offices.

Well, brief is better than nothing. It will be an introduction, and then I can go back for further exploration when the dust settles.

After a lot of initial interest, we end up with a group of 5: In addition to Ben, there’s Mario from Sicily, Vitali from Belarus/USA, and Ellen and myself, hailing from Norway.

We all know this is not in any way going to be a typical holiday. Not even a typical African holiday.

My approach to the Sahel is one of humility and respect, but most of all curiosity. What will it be like, being in a region where keeping your wits about you takes on a whole new meaning?

Mali: through history and hope

Mali is where the adventure begins. I land in the capital after a 7-hour flight from Addis. In Bamako, I meet our fixer, Abdoulaye, and the other four, all arriving from different places.

Who hasn’t dreamt of visiting Timbuktu and Djenné? I certainly have. Timbuktu’s old mosques and legendary manuscripts from the golden age of knowledge: this is the stuff myths are made of. But the road to Timbuktu is fraught with danger. High risk of kidnapping on that road, say the travel warnings. Mais non, says Abdoulaye, it is not merely a high risk. Kidnapping is pretty much guaranteed.

Have to settle for this for now. A model of the Great Mosque in Djenné, outside the National Museum of Mali in Bamako.

Timbuktu and Djenné will have to wait. But Bamako is relatively safe.* And we will be able to take a trip out in the countryside. To Siby.

Bamako

In Bamako, first order of the day is a visit to the recycle market.

The recycle market

Where trash becomes treasure to the sounds of forging metal

After the hard work, freshly made rice fritters is just the thing:

National Museum of Mali

Next is the National Museum of Mali, including a textile exhibit. Millions or people in the countryside are employed in the cotton industry. Mali’s second-largest export, it brings in foreign exchange and is a very important part of the country’s economy.

Outside the National Museum we bump into this cheerful group.

Just a few metres away is an evocative memorial to victims of terrorism.

2012 was the annus horribilis here in Mali, with ISIS/Daesh, Al-Qaeda, Boko Haram, and various other crackpots, all wreaking havoc around the country. Some are still lurking in the bushes in border areas and in the north of the country. Bamako is safe enough, though. For now, at least.*

Bamako’s fetish market

We visit the fetish market (also known as the voodoo market or pink market), a section of Bamako’s Grand Marché. You can find all kinds of items for ritualistic or medicinal uses here, including dried animal heads, skin, skulls, horns…

A somewhat unusual way to get an insight into traditional culture and, not least, beliefs. Still… I won’t pretend I like it. Animals deserve respect, even dead ones.

Religious architecture in Bamako

Sacred heart Cathedral and Mosque de Bamako

Siby

In the afternoon, we travel ca. 50km southwest to Siby, for a hike and a bit of cultural immersion.

Siby is a small community, surrounded by dramatic sandstone cliffs. Trails wind through the Manding Mountains, with stunning views and ancient caves. This was once home of the Mandé Empire.

The iconic Arch of Kamandjan, a massive natural rock formation, towering above the landscape

According to legend, Kamandjan Camara, King of Siby, used his sword to pierce the rock and so created the arch. Practically Arthurian, this.

One of the many mysterious caves in the Manding Mountains

But it is more to Siby than merely landscape and lush vegetation. It is also about traditional Malian music and masked dance.

Bambara and Dogon dance groups perform to music played on traditional instruments like balafon and ngoni.

Back in Bamako…

we, erm… crash a wedding.

Wedding party in a venue we walk past – no idea who they are. Friendly folks, though.

Musée de la Femme Muso Kunda

The next morning, Ellen and I get up early to visit Bamako’s Women’s Museum, founded in 1955 by feminist Adame Ba Konaré and dedicated to celebrating Malian women and their skills, their memories, and, not least, their contributions to history, tradition, culture, politics and modern life. Well done, Bamako!

Muso Kunda means ‘on the women’s side’ in Kassonké

My eyes are drawn to a memorial wall: about women heroes of Mali’s 1991 pro‑democracy movement…

…and a much too long list of the women who died in those March days in 1991.

On a brighter note, the museum also focusses on women’s daily life: traditional dress, jewellery, hairstyles, cooking implements, displays about marriage rituals and the changing role of women over time.

Life on the Niger River

There’s time for a trip up river before we move on to Burkina Faso.

The mighty Niger River flows 4,200km from the highlands of Guinea, through Mali, Niger, and Benin before it joins the Atlantic Ocean at the Gulf of Guinea. Here in Bamako, a slow journey up the river is an interesting way to see the city from a different angle, drifting past sloping riverbanks, watch fishermen casting their nets, noticing villages half hidden behind trees…

The rest of the gang get in a canoe for a brief journey, whilst I… do not.

Looks like it can tip over at the slightest movement, that thing.

My relationship with water is complicated, it is an odd mix of love and fear, so I decide to explore the riverbanks from land instead.

I wander past boat builders, watch birds wheel overhead and people washing clothes on the banks. I see children splashing at the water’s edge and hear conversations in Bambara and French. It’s like I have a window into Bamako’s daily life, even from land.

Favourite eats

In Bamako, we stopped for meals twice at the friendly Bistrot Bafing. On our last night in Bamako, Abdoulaye’s lovely sister invited us for a delicious home cooked meal.

Bistro Bafing

Goodbye to Mali

Burkina Faso, Niger and Chad coming up

Journey through the Sahel: Adventures in Mali is a post from Sophie’s World