Market Day at Djenne
Day 12: January 8th, 2007
Another day of traveling is ahead of us. We have to pay our guide the final payment before we leave Mopti. This involved another slow and painful process at the bank...well....for Mike anyway. Derek and I had some time to take one last walk around Mopti before we got underway to Djenne, so we walked over to the mosque and took a couple of pictures.
We are almost underway....had to get fuel. Our guide Colombie is helping Ali with the phone. Ali is dressed in some fine, new Dogon attire and he is wearing his turban in a different fashion. Notice the guy in the red parka....it was a comfortable 20ish for me....I guess that's cold in Africa. The second shot is a typical road-side police "station".
After a couple hours of uneventful driving, we ended up at the ferry crossing to Djenne. Of course there were people selling various items at prices that were bartered down to 20% of the initial offer. Everyone here was calling themselves M. Bon-prix, or Mme Bon-prix.....Derek countered by saying that his name was M. Prix-finale.....it seemed to work for him.
After arriving in Djenne at the hotel, we dropped off our bags and headed over to the market area. The market is in a large courtyard beside the mosque that Djenne is famous for.
Now we were in the thick of the market....noise, smells, crowds of people and lots of colour. A very interesting experience.
We had a little lunch break, then it was back into the market again. Things were beginning to wind down.
We headed over to the "parking lot" were all the carts were parked. This is how the people bring their wares to the market each week.
When we came back from the parking lot, we made our way past a Koranic school where the kids were receiving their religious instruction, and learning to read and write.
Another stroll past the market area and the mosque.
In the second shot there are two blind beggars. We gave them some food and a few coins.
Later on our guide and driver dropped us off at the only restaurant in Djenne that sells beer. We had the special of chicken, beans and bread. It was quite good, and by the time we went back to the hotel, it was well after dark.....the walk was perhaps half a kilometer through very dark streets, but I felt perfectly safe, the locals were very friendly.
Day 13: January 9th, 2007
This morning we would be meeting a young man by the name of Ya-ya; he will be taking us for another short tour of Djenne and then we will be off to see the village of Senossa a few kilometres from Djenne. Before breakfast, Mike and I looked around and took a few photos.
The first two are of a local boys house. Young boys leave the home at about aged 13 and live together in these houses. They live in these communal homes until they get married. The third shot is a local cafe. The fourth shot is of a board used by the Koranic school-children for writing down their verses.
A few shots by the mosque in the early light.
Mike with Ya-ya on a rooftop beside the mosque and market square.
This is the Tomb of Tupama Djenepo. A young girl was entombed here in the 12th century as a sacrifice to give prosperity to the people of Djenne. It is said that she went willingly and that her family was honoured by this.
A few more pictures taken while walking around the town.
This young woman below had a small shop where she sold textiles. I ended up buying a blanket that is now on my bed at home.
A wedding procession.
More sights...
Now we are back at the hotel, and our cart has arrived to take us to the village of Senossa, a few kilometres away.
The streets and alleys of Senossa.
Day 14: January 10th, 2007
Today we drive back to Bamako. It will be a long drive, and our guides will take us to a hotel where we can relax for a few hours before going to the airport and our flight home. Dawn at Djenne, and we are getting ready to leave.
On the drive, we stopped to take a small break and a picture of a local mosque.
We are now at another ferry crossing, this must be off the tourist path....no hawkers selling trinkets here.
On the ferry...
Our driver, Ali.
A brief stop for lunch in the town of Segou...we were once again accosted by people selling crap, and asking for money. I was growing tired of it all, and I was fairly rude to a young man who asked me for money.
We arrived in Bamako and went to the local market, there I bought a drum with the last of my money [10,000 CFA, or $25 Cdn]. We then relaxed in the hotel before the trip to the airport and the flight home. The airport at Bamako is a really run-down place....we had to spend several hours there and I was getting sick.....the trips to the bathroom were not very pleasant affairs....the open holes in the Dogon Country were far more sanitary than the bathrooms at the Bamako Airport.
Now we are off to London via Casablanca.