Djenne: The largest mud built mosque in the world... ever!

February 7, teriya bugu to sevare

We both feel the need to drive, to cover some distance, after the last few weeks in Bamako and Segou. Instead of taking small roads beside the Niger river and meandering our way east towards Djenne and Mopti, we opt for the smooth, relatively fast tarmac road. It’s pretty boring.

We wave at everyone as we drive along, passing through villages. No speed cameras here but at the entrance and exit of every village on the road there is a series of rumble strips (4, 3, 2, then 1) leading upto a big speed bump that is best taking in most instances in first gear. It sure slows you down. So, we potter through villages, watching women drawing water from the well or else pounding millet; men sitting under trees staring into the road or else sitting around a broken motorbike staring into the road. As for the kids, if they are not in school, then they wave energetically and run after the Landy shouting “Toubab”, “cadeau” or some such variant. Signs keep telling us that Aids is present here and we need to be careful. We are.

Djenne is beside the river Niger on the way to Mopti and is an ancient trading centre (it established Timbuktu as an outpost at the edge of the Sahara). It’s also home to the world’s largest mud built mosque and an impressive building it is too. Not impressive in the way the Segrada Familia is in Barcelona, but wonderful for its simple beauty. It reminded me a bit of something the Clangers might have built or a particularly zealous family of sand castle builders on the beach at Scarborough maybe. The whole town has a similar feel and you can’t help but worry if the tide came in suddenly it would all wash away. It’s rubbish of course. The place has been standing for a good 600 odd years. It’s also a firm fixture on the tourist trail (hence the nice tarmac road up from Bamako). Guides and car park attendants greet us as we pull up and follow us as we wander round the mosque and town streets. We climb back in the car and head further up the road in the fading light to Sevare near to Mopti and Mac’s Refuge for the evening.

Now Mac was born to American missionaries in Dogon country and grew up here before carrying on in his parents footsteps after university as a missionary himself here. To-day he runs his hotel, provides a damn fine dinner and breakfast (including Frosties and pancakes and maple syrup!), and is a obvious magnet for the various christian missionary groups that flock to these parts. We ate with Finnish, American and Nigerian missionaries and while they were all a smashing bunch they did put me off drinking beer a bit. I joined them all in drinking the Bissap iced tea instead. It was very good too.

Overland Info:

Mac’s Refuge is easy to find off the main road from Bamako. It’s signposted. Not cheap at 5,000/cfa per night per person, but worth it for the food.

GPS: N 14°30.819 W004°05.988

february 8. sevare to bush camp on the way to Timbuktu

We stopped in Mopti to take out some money and ended up buying some “Touareg” tea ahead of our trip north to Timbuktu. Apparently, the Touareg love their tea but it’s very expensive for them on the edge of the desert. We were told by some local guides surrounding the Landy it would be a good idea to take some with us. I went off to buy some. It was pretty expensive really here in Mopti, tourist country on the edge of the Niger. Anyway, armed with our Touareg tea for the Touareg and Kola nuts for the Dogon (bought in Bamako), we set off. It felt like we were ready to see the animals in the zoo. Not a good feeling. It also felt like maybe we were stupid tourists believing too much of what we are told.

At Douentza, some 200 km North East of Mopti, is the turning off the tarmac towards Timbuktu. It isn’t signposted. That’s a bit off we think. Could at least have a signpost saying “edge of the known world” or “middle of nowhere” or “sandy place that attracts tourists”. But no. Nothing.

It’s a bumpy old road. And dusty. But mainly bumpy. The landscape is stunning though. Here, on the edge of Dogon country, we are in the middle of the Sahel of course. But it’s the Sahel with rocky outcrops and cliffs. To our south, the Tellem and later the Dogon populated the base of the cliffs that run west to east. By sticking to their culture (or not having electricity, TV or tarmac roads) they have made Dogon country into a major stop on Mali’s developing tourist trail. But more of them later. Here, further north another outcrop dominates the first 50 km of the really very bumpy drive north. After that it’s just bumping our way through the sahel, the trees, bushes and scrubs becoming scarcer the further north we go.

Half way (100 km as the crow flies or more like 130 km as we swerved back and forward to try and find an easier route), we spot a gentle rising hill to our left and decide it’d make a lovely place to camp for the night. It’s flat on the top and we’re hidden from view from the road or passing goat, sheep or camel herders. We set up camp. I have to tell you that after a long hot day on the road there is nothing, nothing better than an open air shower, standing naked on a waffle board beside the Land Rover, using the water pump sparingly. A liberating feeling. And a better smell too!

Supper is spaghetti and Marie-Jo’s special tomato sauce. Special because it depends on what is available in the food box. As is always the case when we bush camp, we find somewhere very quiet. No-one disturbs us. It’s silent all around. When we go to bed, I can’t sleep. I hear mythical creatures all around. I toss and turn and ruin Marie-Jo’s night too. If this continues, I’m going to get banished to the ground tent!

Overlander info:

The turning off the road at Douentza for Timbuktu is at GPS: N 15°00.697 W002°57.003

Little Landy in a big, bad long road to Timbuktu