Built on three islands connected by dikes, Mopti is the country’s major route intersection.
Peoples from many groups call Mopti home, including the Bambara, Songhai, Fula, Tuaregs (and their former slave – the Bellasha), Moors, Bozos, and Dogon.
Once a Bozo fishing village, it has the largest river port in what was the French Sudan and now has about 100,000 people.
Pirogues and their larger counterparts, pinasses, carry goods up and down the Bani/Niger River.
Mopti is the most strategically important point to visit the main attractions of Mali: Djenne, the Dogon country and Timbuktu. Transport is even possible to Timbuktu during and after the rainy season. |