Mali is a landlocked country in West Africa. Around 21.4 million
people live in the approximately 1.24 million km² state (as of July
2023). Its capital is Bamako. Most of the population lives in the
southern part of the country, which is crossed by the two rivers
Niger and Senegal. The north extends deep into the Sahara and is
hardly populated.
Throughout history, there have been three
empires in what is now Mali that controlled trans-Saharan trade: the
Ghana Empire, the Mali Empire, after which the modern state is
named, and the Songhai Empire. Mali's golden age saw the flourishing
of Islamic scholarship, mathematics, astronomy, literature and art.
In the late 19th century, Mali became part of the colony of French
Sudan. Along with neighboring Senegal, the Mali Federation gained
independence in 1960. Shortly thereafter, the federation collapsed
and the country declared independence under its current name. After
a long one-party rule, a military coup in 1991 led to the adoption
of a new constitution and the establishment of a democratic
multi-party state.
In January 2012, the armed conflict in
northern Mali escalated again. In the course of this, the Tuareg
rebels proclaimed the secession of the state of Azawad from Mali.
The conflict was further complicated by the March 2012 coup and
subsequent fighting between Islamists and the Tuareg. In view of the
Islamists' territorial gains, Operation Serval began in January
2013, during which Malian and French troops recaptured most of the
north. The UN Security Council supports the peace process by sending
MINUSMA. After the recent, third military coup in May 2021, the
country is led by a transitional military government. This is
internationally criticized, among other things, for not holding
elections and for maintaining close relations with authoritarian
Russia.
A new constitution was approved again in 2023.
The main economic sectors are agriculture, fishing and,
increasingly, mining. The most important mineral resources include
gold, of which Mali is the third largest producer in Africa, and
salt. About half of the population lives below the poverty line. The
United Nations Development Program lists Mali as one of the
countries with low levels of human development.
Mali has long
traditions in cultural areas. Especially in music, dance, literature
and visual arts, it leads an independent cultural life that is known
far beyond its borders.
Map of Mali.
North: Gao, Kidal and Timbuktu (Tombouctou) regions
South: Kayes, Koulikoro, Segou and Sikasso regions
The Mopti region
lies at the junction of the two major regions. There are a variety of
sights here, including: the historic buildings of Djenné, the Dogon
villages nestled on the rocks of Bandiagara and the unique rock
formations of the table mountain Hombori Tondo (at 1153, Mali's highest
mountain)
Bamako – capital (2 million inhabitants)
Djenne
Mopti
Segou
Timbuktu
Gao
The land of the Dogon around the Falaise de Bandiagara (World Heritage Site)
Entry requirements
All nationals who do not come from ECOWAS
countries require a permit to enter the country. Responsible for the
exhibition in Germany is:
Consular Department of the Embassy of
Mali, Kurfürstendamm 72, 10709 Berlin. Tel.: +49 30 31 99 88 3. Tourists
must submit a hotel reservation or invitation with the name and address
of the person in question. Business travel invitation letter and/or
company certificate. You are also responsible for Austria, but you can
pick up the visa you applied for in Berlin at the Honorary Consulate
Lenaugasse 19, 1080 Vienna: Mon, Fri, Sat 12.30-2.30 p.m. Open:
Application Mon.-Fri. 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m., collection only Tuesdays,
Thursdays. Price: Tourist, single €50 (1 month), multiple €70 (3
months), express surcharge, 1 day processing €50. Bank transfer or check
or cash in the letter.
Switzerland
Section consulaire de
l'Ambassade, Route de Pré-Bois 20, Immeuble ICC 1er étage Porte G, 1215
Genève 15 Aéroport. Responsible for French-speaking Switzerland and
Ticino. German speakers should contact the consulate St. Jakobs-Strasse
30, CH-4002 Bâle (info@maliconsulat.ch), Mon.-Thurs. 7.30 a.m. to 2
p.m., Friday to 12.30 p.m.
For overland travelers, it may make
more sense to obtain a visa in neighboring countries. Representatives
can be found in Dakar, Niamey, Nouakchott, Conakry and Rabat.
Duty free quantities
Very generous with 1000 cigarettes or 250 cigars
or 2kg of tobacco. Plus 2 liters of alcohol.
Airplane
The
country's largest airport is Bamako-Sénou International Airport (IATA:
BKO). There are flights there with Air France via Paris-Charles de
Gaulle, with Turkish Airlines via Istanbul, with Ethiopian Airlines via
Addis Ababa, with Royal Air Maroc via Casablanca and with Tunisair via
Tunis. The fastest connections from Frankfurt am Main or Munich take
just under 10 hours each way and cost just under €700 there and back,
from Vienna around 9 hours and over €800, from Zurich 11 hours and €800.
There are also various intra-African connections.
There are only
domestic flights, if any, to the other airports (Gao, Kayes, Mopti,
Timbuktu).
Train
The Dakar-Niger railway, which allowed people
to travel from Senegal, has been discontinued. In 2013 there were still
weekly passenger trains on the 420km between Bamako (from Mon, Wed, Fri
7.15) and Kayes (from Tue, Thu, Sun 7.15) via Kati and Diamou. At the
beginning of 2023, the Bamako - Kayes route was tested again.
By
bus
Car/motorcycle/bicycle
Ivory Coast
The clearance between
Pogo and Zégoua takes place directly at the border. A new, joint border
post will be built a few kilometers into Malian territory in 2018.
Burkina Faso
See the relevant section in said state article.
Mauritania
(Everyone is warning against traveling to the border
region in 2018.)
When crossing from Mali's Nara on the RN4 into
Mauritanian Boû Steïlé (بوصطيلة), there are no Mauritanian visas (as of
2016).
Gogui. Mauritanians have lunch from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m., the
visa office closes at 5 p.m. The first/last supply option and gas
station is in Kiffa.
On the Malian side, a paid (negotiable) police
escort to Nioro was required for foreigners in 2017, but not in the
opposite direction.
Senegal
1) The N1 going from/to Dakar via
Tambacounda meets the N2 coming from St. Louis and Rosso in the border
town of Kidira. The place has the same name on both sides of the border
river Falémé, the Senegalese part is the larger. There is also the Hotel
Étoile du Boundu. The disused Dakar-Bamako railway line also passed
through here. In Mali it is 96km on the RN1 to Kayes.
Buses from
Africa Tours, Noir tours, Sonef, Transafrica and others run between
Tambacounda and Bamako, sometimes overnight in 18-20 hours at prices
around 20,000 CFA (2017) for the entire route.
2) In the south
there is a transition between the Senegalese Moussala over the border
river to Koundame. The nearest Malian town is Kéniéba. Motos between
border stations 1000 CFA or five minutes walk. Malian customs controls
are superficial.
Coming from Bamako, via Kita, Africa Star's
Koundame buses take around 11-12 hours (6000 CFA, Jan. 2018). The return
journey from the border is around 2 p.m. There are also air-conditioned
direct buses from this company to Dakar, leaving from Bamako. Hotel
Olympe. Otherwise, in Senegal you have to rely on bush taxis to/from
Kédougou via Saraya.
The official language is French, which also serves as a lingua franca and a language of higher education, although only about 2.2 million Malians can communicate in this language. There are also 13 national languages. The most widely spoken of these is Bambara, which has around 4 million native speakers and is spoken as a second language by another 5 million Malians. Other important languages in the country are Senufo (2 million speakers; in the southeast on the border with Burkina Faso), Songhai (1.5 million; on central Niger), Fulfulde (in the central region), Maninka (in the southwest, on the border with Senegal) and Soninke (in the west, on the border with Mauritania; 1.3 million each). In the north, Arabic and Tuareg languages are predominantly spoken. Most languages are spoken with several naturalized dialects that vary from place to place. Many Malians understand several of these languages.
Larger banks and hotels usually accept credit cards. The ability to
receive money from ATMs may be limited.
The national currency is
the CFA franc, which is heavily overvalued for political reasons and is
pegged to the euro at a ratio of 655:1.
Components of the country's typical cuisine include plantains, sweet potatoes, millet and peanut sauce. Of course, fish is also eaten on the Niger (e.g. captain's fish).
The foreign ministries of the German-speaking countries warn against
traveling to the country, especially its northern part. The country has
been under a state of emergency since November 2015. There have been
several terrorist attacks in the recent past in which foreigners were
also affected (Hotel Radisson Blu in Bamako; property of the UN mission;
headquarters of the EU training mission). Travelers should therefore
behave particularly carefully, avoid crowds and strictly follow
instructions from local security forces. Since November 2009, Europeans
have been kidnapped repeatedly in the Sahara and Sahel zones. It is
particularly dangerous in the north of the country (north of the 14th
parallel and north of the national road 6 Ségou-San and further line
Toumian/Burkina Faso border). Overland journeys that are not absolutely
necessary are not recommended. If anything, these should not be done
alone. We also strongly warn against driving in the dark. An increase in
violent crime has been observed since 2017, which has also increasingly
affected foreigners in recent months.
The government, which has
been in office since spring 2022, is much more critical of the use of
Western European troops as a post-colonial occupation than its
predecessors, which has led to tensions with France, Denmark and the
Federal Republic of Germany. The extent to which travelers from these
countries will be affected by this cannot be estimated.
Malaria is a serious problem: Mali lies precisely in a malaria zone.
The usual malaria prophylaxis is therefore important.
Vaccinations against yellow fever and hepatitis A + B are also
necessary. A rabies vaccination is also recommended.
Rock paintings show that Mali has been inhabited since the
Paleolithic. It is known that trade across the Sahara with North Africa
was already very important more than 2,000 years ago and helped the
trading towns on the southern edge of the Sahara to prosper. Around 300
BC The Jenne-Jeno culture flourished in the 4th century BC and is
documented by archaeological finds.
Between the 4th and 11th
centuries, the Soninke Ghana Empire dominated the region between Senegal
and Niger. Its center was near today's Néma. Two centuries later, the
Islamic Mali Empire of the Malinke achieved hegemony over the region,
centered on the upper reaches of the Niger. The Mali Empire became
famous through the writings of Ibn Batuta, but also through the
pilgrimage of its fabulously wealthy ruler Mansa Musa. Its decline in
the 15th century was followed by the Songhai Empire with its center in
Gao, which helped cities such as Djenné and Timbuktu (cf. clay mosques
of Timbuktu) flourish, including with university-like educational
institutions.
The Songhai Empire was initially weakened by a
Moroccan invasion at the end of the 16th century with the conquest of
Timbuktu and Gao and numerous small states emerged. From the 17th
century onwards, Bambara built up centers of power along the Niger
around Ségou (Empire of Bambara). The Massina Empire of the Fulani
emerged in the Massina area. At the end of the 18th century, rulers of
the Tukulor people (other name: Toucouleur) took power in almost all of
what is now Mali's territory.
In the 1880s, the French colonial army began to take control of what
is now Mali, starting from the west. Against the background of British
competition for West Africa, they tried to use military and diplomatic
means to expand their influence across the entire Sahel region. They
encountered collaborators as well as militarily organized rivals,
especially in Ségou and in the person of Samory Touré, who wanted to
build an empire himself. By 1899, France had conquered all of what is
now Mali, although it was never able to bring the nomads in the Sahara
under control. In 1893, Louis Albert Grodet became the first governor of
the colony of French Sudan. Bamako became the capital of the colony and
in 1904 the railway line to Dakar was completed. However, the region
remained of minor importance for the French; it mainly supplied soldiers
who fought on the French side in the two world wars.
There were
intellectuals who advocated the colony's independence since the 1930s.
The PSP and US-RDA parties emerged, with the latter being more
anti-colonialist.
According to the Loi Lamine Guèye of 1946, all
citizens had the right to vote in elections to the French parliament and
also in local elections. The right to stand for election was not
expressly mentioned in the law, but it was not excluded either. In the
elections to the Paris Parliament there was no two-class voting system
in French West Africa as in other French colonies, but there was for all
local elections. In 1956, the loi-cadre Defferre was introduced under
the French colonial administration, which guaranteed active and passive
universal suffrage. This introduced women's suffrage.
After the
French constitution of 1958 allowed the colonies full internal autonomy,
the colonies of Senegal and French Sudan united on April 4, 1956 and
declared themselves independent as the Mali Federation on June 20, 1960.
The general active and passive right to vote was confirmed. Due to
differences between the leading politicians of the two parts of the
country, Modibo Keïta and Léopold Sédar Senghor, the federation
collapsed on August 20 of the same year. On September 22, 1960, the
former colony of French Sudan formally declared its independence under
the name Republic of Mali.
After independence, Mali became a one-party state under President
Keïta, whose power relied on the US-RDA. He represented a
socialist-oriented policy that aimed at centralization and mobilization
of the masses through party structures. Without breaking with France,
closer cooperation with the Eastern Bloc countries was sought. Keïta's
regime became increasingly repressive due to poor economic conditions
and growing popular discontent. On November 19, 1968, a group of young
military men led by Moussa Traoré seized power. The unity party UDPM
became its power base. It largely continued Keïta's socialist policy,
but from the mid-1970s onwards it increasingly began to seek connection
to the Western industrialized countries. The Traoré era saw two
devastating droughts, the unrest of 1980 and, to make matters worse, the
already weak Malian state was twice embroiled in armed border conflicts
with the neighboring state of Burkina Faso. In the north the Tuareg
revolted.
Traoré was again overthrown in a coup on March 26,
1991. In 1992, the first free elections in the country's history took
place, won by history professor Alpha Oumar Konaré (ADEMA-PASJ). After
two terms in office, Konaré, the 1991 coup leader Amadou Toumani,
succeeded Touré in office. During this phase, significant administrative
and judicial reforms were carried out with foreign support. Although
Mali was subsequently praised as a successful example of democratization
in Africa, the state administration remained inefficient, corrupt and
poverty high. Both presidents also failed to find a solution to the
Tuareg issue.
The northern Mali conflict became acute after numerous heavily armed
mercenaries and Islamists from the war in Libya came to Mali and allied
themselves with the Tuareg rebels. In January 2012, Tuareg groups
attacked the Malian military in the northeast of the country, three
months later they had taken control of the entire north and declared the
area they controlled to be independent. The Malian army had nothing to
oppose the rebels; after all, it had the power to overthrow the
president. In March 2012, the government was overthrown and President
Amadou Toumani Touré was declared deposed by a group of low-ranking
officers led by Captain Amadou Sanogo. The coup plotters justified their
actions with the government's inability to control the uprising of the
Tuareg rebels of the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad
(MNLA) in the Azawad region in the north of the country, which has been
ongoing since mid-January 2012. The UN Security Council, the African
Union and EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton condemned the coup
and imposed sanctions on the military junta; Development aid was
temporarily suspended. In contrast, the population accepted the putsch
calmly and there were even demonstrations of solidarity with the
putschists.
Meanwhile, in the north of the country, the Tuareg
rebels of the MNLA captured all towns in the Azawad region and declared
Azawad's unilateral independence on April 6, 2012. Between January and
July 2012, over 250,000 Malians fled to neighboring countries Burkina
Faso, Mauritania and Niger as a result of political instability,
insecurity and lack of access to food and water. In addition, there were
around 105,000 internally displaced people in the north and around
69,000 internally displaced people in the south of Mali during the same
period.
It was only in December 2012 that the United Nations
approved a resolution that paved the way for Western military
intervention in Mali. When the rebels set out to conquer the south of
the country in January 2013, interim President Dioncounda Traoré asked
the former colonial power France for help. With Operation Serval, the
Islamists were quickly defeated and command was handed back to African
troops. Former Prime Minister Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta (IBK) won the 2013
presidential election in Mali, which was postponed several times; He is
considered the candidate of the oligarchy, which already held power
before the coup. At the same time, the situation remains unstable,
especially in the north, with repeated attacks by Islamists, while the
Moor and Tuareg minorities are exposed to retaliation from the black
African majority. In 2014, there were corresponding orders for the
International Committee of the Blue Shield, based in The Hague, which is
committed to protecting cultural assets from the effects of wars and
armed conflicts, a need that is particularly seen in Mali. Work was also
carried out on “no-strike lists”, which are intended to protect cultural
assets from air strikes.
On August 19, 2020, a military junta took power and claimed to be working with the protest movement in the West African country. At midnight, IBK resigned after being arrested by coup plotters during the controversial parliamentary elections and massive demonstrations led by the opposition movement M5-RFP (Mouvement du 5 Juin - Rassemblement des Forces Patriotiques). Hours later, the newly founded National Committee for the Salvation of the People (Comité national pour le salut du peuple; CNSP) took power. It was led by Assimi Goïta. The West African countries in particular condemned the coup and therefore announced partial economic sanctions, ranging up to a complete trade embargo. At the end of September, the interim government appointed Mali's former defense minister Bah N'Daw as interim president. Goita was nominated as vice president. The aim of the interim government should be to reform the constitution and hold elections within 18 months.
On May 24, 2021, interim President Bah N'Daw and Prime Minister Moctar Ouane, along with other government members, were arrested by the military and, like Ibrahim Boubakar Keita the year before, taken to the military camp in Kati. A few hours earlier, the interim government had appointed a new cabinet by decree in which the military filled strategically important positions despite promises to the contrary. The ministries of defense, security, territorial administration and national reconciliation were headed by officers. However, some army officers were excluded by the new government. After the coup, those arrested resigned and were subsequently released. Colonel Assimi Goita took over the presidential office on an interim basis. Goita promised a return to democracy. Until then, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has suspended Mali's membership. In September 2021, the junta brought the Russian mercenary group Wagner into the country. At the beginning of 2022, the military-dominated government announced that it would postpone the elections planned for February 2022 and the associated return to democracy for up to five years.
By August 2022, France withdrew its troops; A camp was immediately
taken over by the Russian mercenary group Wagner. The reason for the
withdrawal was the brutal operations of the Russian mercenaries with the
Malian army; Hundreds of men were executed in Moura in March, without
trial and without distinguishing between militants and civilians. This
has been the case since the military conducted joint operations with the
mercenaries, said an Amnesty International investigator. The European
training mission EUTM should be stopped.
The security situation
did not improve as a result of the junta's more aggressive actions;
Around 2,700 people died in Mali in the first half of 2022, around 40
percent more than in the whole of 2021. In addition, according to a UN
report from June, the state only controlled 15 percent of the country's
area. The All Eyes On Wagner project stated in November 2022, after a
year of Wagner's presence, that not only was he no help to the
government in the fight against the rebels, but the situation had also
been made worse. The information collected from open sources, media
reports, eyewitness accounts and human rights reports about the crimes
of Russian mercenaries included massacres, rapes, robberies and attacks
on civilians. As in other African countries, structures affiliated with
the mercenaries became interested in the country's gold mines. The
report's authors cite several cases in which Russian mercenaries tried
to shift responsibility for massacres onto French soldiers.
Mali is a landlocked country in the interior of West Africa with an area of 1,240,192 square kilometers, of which 20,002 km² are bodies of water. It is located in the greater Sudan and in the Sahel. Mali shares its 7,243 kilometer long land border with seven neighboring countries. In the northeast and north with Algeria (1,376 kilometers long), in the northwest with Mauritania (2,237 km), in the east with Niger (821 km) and in the southeast with Burkina Faso (1,000 km). Mali is also bordered by Senegal (419 km) to the west, Guinea (858 km) to the southwest and the Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire, 532 km) to the south. North of the Niger Arc lies the Sahara Desert, which covers two thirds of the country's surface.
The most common landform in Mali is the plain. The monotonous, extensive plains such as the Kaarta, the Gourma or the Gondo plain are only locally broken up by flat table mountains or dune formations. The south of the Affolé, the Mandingo Plateau, the Bandiagara Plateau or the Mahardates Plateau have sandstone subsoils. They are structured in many different ways by erosion and reach heights between 300 and 700 meters above sea level. In some regions the subsoil consists of the ancient rocks of the African Shield, which tends to lack expression and wide valleys: in the west and east of the country, in the southwest of the Affolé, in the Bambouk, in the Adrar of the Ifoghas and in the foothills of the Tamboura step. Dune landscapes, be they of fossil or recent origin, cover large parts of the north and extend as far as the Kaarta in the south. Notable dune landscapes can be found in the Hodh, in the Erg of Niafunké, in the Gourma, in the Gondo Plain, in the Ergs of Azaouad, in Erigat, in Mreyyé or in the Erg Chech. While the fossil dunes usually run parallel to each other, chaotic and very mobile dune fields are common in Aklé Aouana. Layers that form steep slopes that drop hundreds of meters deep are generally characteristic of West Africa; for Mali, the Bandiagara Stage, the Tamboura Stage or the Affolé Stage should be mentioned. The few mountainous areas of Mali are dolerite formations that rise above the plateaus. These include the Soninke surveys. The highest mountain in Mali is Hombori Tondo at 1153 m.
Mali lies entirely on the Lower African part of the Gondwana
Urcraton. Basin and sill structure dominates, with Mali lying largely in
the Taoudenni Basin, which extends from the Niger Inland Delta to the
middle Sahara. The sills surrounding the basin consist of bulges of the
crystalline primordial craton. It is often overlain by sandstone, which
was formed by several phases of flooding with seawater between the
Paleozoic and Cenozoic. Tertiary deposits are less common. Since Mali,
like the entire Sahel zone, belongs to the marginal tropical zone of
excessive surface formation, extensive hull areas interrupted by
inselbergs are typical. Laterite crusts have formed widely on the
surface of sediments and can be up to several meters thick. The youngest
geological formations trend parallel in a northeast-southwest direction.
They are old dunes that were formed in the Late Pleistocene, are up to
30 m high and are stabilized by savanna vegetation.
When it comes
to soils, tropical red soils are the most common. They occur on
crystalline subsoil or old sedimentary layers and are relatively
sterile. Where these earths have formed laterite crusts, sparse
vegetation from Combretaceae thrives. Weathering material can collect in
pediment areas and form suitable soil for agriculture. Fersiallites,
reddish-brown lessivated soils on aeolian sands, are also widespread and
form layers of 2 to 3 meters. They contain little humus and are
susceptible to soil destruction by humans. With appropriate fertilizer
use, they are suitable for growing millet or cotton. The northern Sahel
zone is dominated by subarid brown earths, which on the one hand absorb
the rare rainfall well, but on the other hand are prone to erosion. This
ground, which is often covered with grass, is of great importance for
nomadic pastoralism. The desert regions are characterized by raw soils
that are created through physical weathering and have hardly any organic
content. Gley soils and vertisols occur along the rivers, especially in
the floodplains and in the inland delta of the Niger. They have high
fertility, but carry the risk of salinization and splitting in dry
conditions. They are suitable for growing sorghum, rice, vegetables and
other crops.
Rivers
The Niger is the most important river in West Africa,
crossing Mali over a length of around 1,700 km. Coming from Guinea, it
flows into the territory of Mali in the southwesternmost tip of the
country and, after Ségou, forms the large inland delta of Massina. At
Mopti it takes in its largest tributary, Mali Bani, and shortly
afterwards splits into two arms, the Bara Issa and the Issa Ber. There
is an alluvial plain of around 100,000 km² in size, which is covered by
numerous shallow, seasonal lakes. Shortly before Diré the two arms join,
at Timbuktu the river turns towards the east and at Bourem towards the
southeast. About half of the country's area lies in the Niger river
basin.
The Senegal River is the second important river in the
region. Its catchment area covers around 10% of the country's area. It
is created near Bafoulabé by the confluence of the Bafing and Bakoye. On
its way through the western part of Mali, the Senegal River takes in the
waters of Falémé, Kolimbiné and Karakoro.
The remaining 40% are
located in the Sahara and are part of the catchment area of the
Tamanrasset river, which once flowed through North Africa.
Lakes
The year-round lakes lie on both sides of the Niger and are called
Niangay and Faguibine. The latter is the largest lake in the country
with a surface area of 590 km² in the rainy season. The numerous
seasonal lakes fill with water in the rainy season, the most important
of which are Débo, Fati, Teli, Korientze, Tanda, Do, Garou and
Aougoundou. Due to decreasing rainfall since the severe droughts of the
early 1980s and, above all, the construction of dams on the upper Niger,
Niangay and Faguibine have recently been drying out on a regular basis.
Fishing in the rivers and lakes is an important industry. The swamps
and wetlands that form along the Niger during the rainy season provide
habitat for numerous species of birds.
Mali's climate is primarily influenced by the country's location at
the transition area between the humid savanna in the south and the fully
arid Sahara in the north. The interaction between the northwardly moving
intertropical convergence zone in summer and the dry northeast trade
wind (Harmattan) in winter gives all regions of the country a distinct
division into dry and rainy seasons. The dry season falls in winter and
the rainy season in summer. Average annual rainfall decreases from over
1200 millimeters in the south to less than 25 millimeters in the north.
Because of the more favorable climatic conditions, large-scale
agriculture is carried out almost exclusively in the south. In the north
there are only small agricultural areas in the oases.
Not only
the average annual rainfall, but also the number of rainy days per year,
the length of the rainy season and the regularity of rainfall are much
more favorable in the south than in the north. On average, it rains 97
days a year in Sikasso, 76 days in Bamako, 29 in Timbuktu and 18 days in
Kidal. While in Kidal well over half of the annual rainfall occurs in
July and August, the south enjoys a rainy season that begins in May,
peaks in August and subsides in October. The further north you go, the
more precipitation falls in the form of short, heavy and localized
thunderstorms. This makes farming even more difficult because crops
often wither between two rainstorms, forcing farmers to make multiple
sowing attempts.
The average annual temperatures in Mali are
between 27 °C and 30 °C. They are largely independent of geographical
latitude. However, the annual amplitudes are significantly higher in the
north than in the south: in Gao or Timbuktu, the summers are hotter with
average temperatures of up to 35 °C and the winters are colder with
January temperatures of around 20 °C. In Bamako, on the other hand,
average temperatures range between 25 °C in winter and 32 °C in April.
The extreme temperatures are reported from the places on the edge of the
Sahara: they are close to freezing on cold winter nights and close to 50
° C in the shade on summer days. Temperature amplitudes of 30 °C within
a day are normal there.
The amount of rain in a year depends
largely on how far the intertropical convergence zone moves north and
how uniform it is. If it is not continuous, but rather wavy or
interrupted, there will be less rain or the rainy season will start
later. If several years with unfavorable development of the
intertropical convergence zone occur in a row, periods of drought occur.
This phenomenon occurs at irregular intervals in the Sahel region. Since
the 1960s, droughts have become increasingly common. A long-term decline
in precipitation can also be demonstrated for this period. This is
explained by reduced evaporation in the inner tropics due to
environmental degradation. In the future, some scientists expect that
rainfall in Mali will continue to decrease and that the vegetation zones
will shift south. The impact on agriculture and food safety would be
serious in this case.
Mali is home to some of the oldest cities in West Africa. Djenné
developed from the 9th century through immigration from Soninke from the
collapsed Ghana into a trading center that reached its peak in the 13th
century and whose architecture still serves as a model for the villages
of the Niger inland delta today. Timbuktu, located on the southern edge
of the Sahara, developed into one of the region's most important cities
from the 12th century onwards, benefiting from its location at the
northernmost point of the Niger Arc. While these old cities show
declining populations, Mali as a whole is experiencing rapid
urbanization, allowing new urban centers to grow rapidly. In addition to
the generally high population growth, rural exodus due to deteriorating
ecological conditions, drought or political instability is contributing
to rapid urbanization. While 9% of Malians lived in cities in 1965, the
figure will probably be around 41% in 2015.
By far the largest
city in the country is Bamako, which has grown from 6,500 inhabitants in
1908 to over 1.8 million inhabitants in 2009. The city is the country's
government and administrative center and serves as a bridgehead abroad,
especially for development aid. The German Embassy Bamako is also
located here, the official and highest diplomatic representation of the
Federal Republic of Germany in the Republic of Mali, with which the
Federal Republic of Germany established diplomatic relations on
September 23, 1960 and the German Democratic Republic on April 19, 1973.
However, the city does not have any cross-border significance. Other
important cities are Sikasso (2009: 226,618 inhabitants), Ségou (133,501
inhabitants) and the center of Malian cotton processing Koutiala (75,000
inhabitants 1998). Due to the influx of drought refugees, Mopti (81,000
inhabitants in 1998, 120,786 in 2009) and Sévaré have grown
significantly. Cities in the Northern Sahel such as Timbuktu (2005:
30,000 inhabitants, 2009 54,629) or Gao (2009 86,353) are affected by
emigration, especially of young people.
The vegetation in Mali is the result of centuries of human
intervention. Natural vegetation is only present in narrowly defined
areas. The cultural landscape created by grazing, agriculture and
slash-and-burn agriculture can be divided into four zones, depending on
the amount of precipitation. With a few exceptions, the plants in these
zones have in common that they sprout at the beginning of the rainy
season and shed their leaves or allow the above-ground part to die in
the dry months.
The area of dense to open dry forests in the
southern part of the country is dominated by tree species such as kapok
tree (Ceiba pentandra), shea tree (Vitellaria paradoxa), African baobab
tree (Adansonia digitata) and ana tree (Faidherbia albida). All of these
trees are used intensively by humans. Combretum trees thrive on less
favorable soil. Clump grasses such as Hyparrhenia, Pennisetum, Loudetia
and Andropogon species form the grass layer. To the north of the dry
forests, where there is less than 600 mm of annual precipitation, the
Sahelian thorn bush savannah spreads. Various acacia species, desert
dates (Balanites aegyptiaca) or Combretum glutinosum, as well as the
grass species Cenchrus biflorus or Aristida mutabilis dominate.
Eragrostis tremula often colonizes areas where millet has been grown.
This savannah is the tiger bush; There, areas with and without
vegetation alternate in strips.
The border between thorn tree
savannah and northern Sahel is 250 to 100 mm annual precipitation.
Acacia species, shrub species such as Leptadenia pyrotechnica or the
important fodder plants Maerua crassifolia or toothbrush tree (Salvadora
persica) still thrive in the moist lowlands of the Northern Sahel. The
Sahara begins where annual rainfall falls below 100 mm. In these areas,
acacia species only occur in wadis. Clump grasses such as Aristida
pungens, Aristida longiflora or Panicum turgidum thrive in favorable
locations.
Species endemic to Mali are Maerua dewaillyi from the
caper family, Elatine fauquei from the tannel family, Pteleopsis
habeensis (wingseed family), Hibiscus pseudohirtus (mallow family),
Acridocarpus monodii (Malpighian family), Gilletiodendron glandulosum
(legume family), Brachystelmam edusan thernum (genus Brachystelma ),
Pandanus raynalii (screw tree family).
Due to overhunting by
locals and other hunters, the desertification of large areas with severe
drought and the increasing cultivation and competition with grazing
animals, larger wild animals in particular are much rarer in Mali than
in many other African countries. As in Mauritania, extinction rates for
mammal populations in Mali have historically been very high compared to
other African countries, despite low population densities.
A
total of around 140 mammal species are native to Mali. Numerous species
of large mammals have become extinct, including the once common sable
antelope and the Mendes antelope (which may still occur in the border
area with Mauritania), or have been reduced to small remaining
populations. The West African giraffe was originally found in large
parts of central Mali, but was reduced to a remaining population in the
border area with Niger through intensive hunting and is now also
considered extinct. Around 350 elephants live in the Gourma region in
the border area with northern Burkina Faso. The latter are the
northernmost population of African elephants and show periodic migratory
behavior in the border area, with the area in Mali making up the larger
part of the range. The African manatee, a type of manatee, also occurs
in Niger, the Niger Inland Delta, Lake Débo and Senegal. The endangered
and internationally protected species occurs regularly, but the
populations are declining due to hunting and the deterioration of water
quality and should be given special protection in the future.
The
chimpanzee is only found in the far southwest of the country, in the
border area with Guinea, where its presence was only documented for the
first time in 1977. In 1984 their number was estimated at 500-1000
individuals, whereas in 1993 the figure was between 1800 and 3500. The
most important habitats are the forests interspersed with
Gilletiodendron glandulosum from the legume family, which in the
Gilletiodendron forest offer around 60 plant species that are edible for
chimpanzees . The groups there are larger than in the associations that
live in the savannah. The most important protected area is the Réserve
faunique du Bafing, established in 1990. Other primates found in Mali
include the hussar monkey, the western vervet monkey, the anubis baboon,
as well as the Guinea baboon (only in the far west) and the Senegal
galago. In the past, predators such as lions and cheetahs were found in
Mali, but their populations continued to decline, so that today they,
like the African wild dog, are no longer present in the protected areas.
Smaller predators such as the pale fox, the sand cat, the dun cat, some
civet cats and martens continue to occur in Mali. Other mammals include
some species of smaller antelope, the maned goat, the aardvark and the
hippopotamus, as well as numerous small mammals living in the country.
According to BirdLife International, a total of 562 bird species
have been recorded in Mali, 117 of which are waterfowl. 229 species are
classified as migratory birds. Numerous bird species live primarily in
the inland delta of the Niger; many migratory birds from Europe also
spend the winter in this area. Worth mentioning is the Mali amaranth,
which is occasionally shown in travel guides as endemic to Mali, but is
also found in neighboring countries. Mali's endangered birds include
larger ground-dwelling birds such as the African ostrich, bustards such
as the Arabian bustard and the Nubian bustard, and guinea fowl.
Mali's reptiles include over 170 species of lizards, including monitor
lizards and thorn-tailed dragons, and over 150 species of snakes. These
include vipers such as the puff adder, various sand vipers and the
desert horned viper as well as poisonous snakes such as several cobras
and the boomslang, which is present in the south. The northern rock
python is also part of the country's herpetofauna. In the Niger and
other rivers, as in most larger rivers in Africa, there are also
crocodiles, especially the Nile crocodile. In addition to these species,
15 turtle species have also been recorded for Mali.
The rivers
and lakes of Mali are inhabited by over 140 fish species, including 18
species of catfish, 14 species of tetras, 9 cichlids (including the Nile
tilapia, Sarotherodon galilaeus and Coptodon zillii) and 4 carp fish.
The largest fish in Mali is the plankton-eating African bony fish.
Termites are important for the ecosystems of the Sahel because they
loosen the soil and form humus. The buildings of the species Cubitermes
fungifaber are particularly striking. The weaver bird species are feared
pests in the rice fields. Migratory locusts are of even greater concern
to the population. The desert locust, which breeds in the Maghreb, can
migrate in huge swarms across the Sahara to the Sahel in years with
sufficient rainfall and destroy natural vegetation and crops.
Mali's only national park is the Boucle du Baoulé National Park in the
west of the country, around 200 km north of Bamako. It covers an area of
5,430 km² and serves to protect hippos, giraffes, waterbucks, roan
antelope, giant eland and lyre antelope as well as warthogs, as well as
corresponding flora. However, its forests are just as endangered by
agricultural and pastoral overuse as those of the Réserve de Fina to the
south.
The population of the country is
13,518,000 people. Mali is a presidential republic, since 2002 the
president is Amadou Toumani Toure.
The population of Mali
consists of numerous African tribes. Most of the inhabitants are settled
in the south of the country, in the north - in desert areas - only 10%
of the population lives. The most numerous tribes are the Bambara (33%),
living mainly in the south and in the center of the country. Together
with the Soninke and Malinke living in the west, they make up half the
population. Other nationalities are Fulani (17%), Senoufo (12%), Dogon
(7%), Songhai (6%), Tuareg (6%).
Most of the country's
inhabitants profess Islam (90%), the rest of the population is disposed
to local beliefs (9%). Only 1% are Christians.
The official
language of Mali is French. 80% of Malians also speak the Bambara
language.
Mali is an agricultural country. The economy of the country is the cultivation of various fruits, vegetables and cereals. High-quality cotton is produced in Mali, and the once core industry, gold mining, is rapidly developing. Animal husbandry and fishing are developed.
Bamako
National Museum - it houses a fairly
extensive collection of masks, statues, archaeological finds and a
good model of the mosque in Djenne
Muso Kunda Museum - dedicated
to women, the exposition - national clothes, household items
Bamako Museum - the exposition consists of various ethnographic
finds
Grand Marche Market - a huge market, occupying an entire
block, was built in the colonial style
Point G - from this point
in the north of the city there is an excellent view of Bamako
Cayes
Fort Medina - part of the French defenses near the city
Mopti
Port Mopti is the busiest port in Mali, from here you
can take a boat tour of Niger
The Misire Mosque is a beautiful
Sahel-style mosque located in the old part of the city.
Segou
Pirogue rides - for about $30 you can ride local canoes on the river
Koro is a small village near Segou, made up of clay houses.
Sikasso
Tata - the remains of a clay wall from the time of the
capture of the country by the French
Dernier Rua Palace - a
beautiful palace in the west of the city
Mamelon - the sacred
hill of the kings of the Kenedugu dynasty
Hombori
Hombori
Tondo - rock formations, a popular place for trekking and rock
climbing, the most famous rock is the "Hand of Fatima"
Jenna
Clay Mosque of Djenne - one of the main attractions of Mali, the
largest clay building in the world
Djenne Dzheno - the ruins of
an ancient city founded about 2300 years ago
Timbuktu
Jigareber Mosque
Mosque of Sidi Yahya
Sankore Mosque - the
three largest clay mosques left over from ancient times
Ethnographic Museum - has a lot of exhibits in its collection:
clothes, musical instruments, jewelry
Ahmed Baba Center - the
largest repository of ancient books and manuscripts of the golden
age of Mali
Dogon country
The country of the Dogon is one
big attraction - beautiful nature, sheer cliffs, ancient culture.
The most popular pastime is trekking.