The first stop in my tour about Mali was Djenne. We left Bamako by bus around 7 am and arrived in Mopti around 6 pm, just to spend the night. The bus makes a number of stops along the way, and at each stop women and men flood into the aisle selling food - fruit, little cakes, packaged "biscuits" - i.e. cookies - water in sachets that you bite the corner off of and sip right out of the bag, and more. Young boys stand just outside singing verses of the Koran and hoping for a few coins. Wouldn't it be something if our kids went around chanting Torah verses learned by heart!
The next morning we are off by very crowded car to Djenne, a city built entirely out of mud. Just before Djenne we must cross the river Bani by ferry. On the trip over young girls besiege us, selling necklaces, toys made out of recyled soda cans, beaded bracelets, and more. They do NOT take "non, mercy" for an answer! "Oh mommi! I make very low price for you! Very low price!" The only escape is when the car is once again on dry land and we set out again.
We arrive in Djenne on Saturday night, to be there in time for the big Monday market. Sellers come from as far away as Bamako and beyond to sell in this famous market. Djenne was where ancient trade routes converged and contines the market tradition today. We are offered rooftop accomodations at the first "campement" we stop at, but after grabbing a shower we head out for another campement with a plain but clean room with "real" beds. A Malian bed is a slatted frame with a thin foam mattress, even at the Djembe Hotel. You can feel every slat. I long for my nice soft bed back home!
We tour the city - really a big village - on Sunday. There is a large mud mosque, as well as several smaller ones. All the mosques in Mali are made from mud, with a very distinct look. Djenne is a mud city. Every year after the rainy season, repairs are made to the buildings and houses, all getting a fresh coating of mud. Some places were currently receiving a "facial" while we were there. I make a friend named Mangalah. He is from Mopti but works in Djenne making and selling cowry shell jewelry. I make several purchases - his work is very good. He promises we will see each other again in Bamako, as he will come to do some business there after I return from my tour.
There are animals everywhere. Goats, sheep, chickens, dogs. The goats are all very small compared to U.S. animals, as are the sheep. The chickens are very small and very skinny. The dogs mostly avoid human contact, as often as not they are met with a kick and a shout, even by the children. Animals are not treated very kindly in Mali. It has been one of the hardest things for me, watching the tiniest of kittens getting whacked on the head with a hard stick for absolutely no reason, or simply kicked in passing. Sometimes I yell at children to stop their cruelty, sometimes I yell at the adults too. The car we rode to Djenne had much cargo atop it - luggage, sacks of rice and grain, a bicycle, and four goats bound at the legs. While we drove along the "highway" we heard a thump behind us. One of the goats had fallen from the roof of the car at full speed. They stopped, determined that none of the legs were broken, and loaded it back on top and continued. Oy!
I was allowed to visit the big mosque while in Djenne. It was quite an involved process, requiring a local to enter and seek out the "priests" and petition on my behalf. Muslim women are allowed to pray in the mosque in a small section at the back. A woman may not enter the mosque if she is not "clean," meaning during her menses. I was questioned closely about whether I was clean - finally I convinced them that that had not been a problem for many years, and was allowed to enter. It was between prayers and mostly empty, save a few clusters of men studying Koran. I took a few pictures - there is mainly row upon row of spaces to spread a prayer mat and pray. On Fridays, when one is required to come to the mosque to make one's afternoon and evening prayers it can be full to capacity.
On Monday the town was crammed with buyers and sellers. Street after street is cheek and jowl with temporary stalls and blankets spread out with everything imaginable for sale. All sorts of grains, peanuts (much smaller than ours), yams, potatoes, little hot red peppers, onions, jewery, sunglasses, decorative masks, carvings, cell phones, and on, and on, and on... I made a few more purchases and mainly just took it all in.
Every day I see a number of people in "wheelchairs." A wheelchair here is powered in one of two ways. Many have a tall steering column topped by pedals like on a bicycle. The pedals are turned by hand, and a long chain and sprocket set-up powers the wheels. Others have a tall steering column topped by a steering wheel. The steering wheel is pushed forward and pulled back to "pump" the wheelchair into motion. Even very old, frail people power themselves around in this way.
After a morning of shopping, we leave Djenne and travel back across the river (accosted by the same girls selling their goods) and head back to Mopti. There we ac quire a small 125 cc motorcycle, spend the night, and prepare for the next day's journey to Songo, the first of the Dogon villages we will visit.
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