Today I'm going to travel slide show in Katowice: [link] and one part of this show is going to be about Mali. I don't know much about this country, so I've decided to find out something more about it.



First source (of course) Wikipedia:
"Mali, officially the Republic of Mali (French: Réublique du Mali), is a landlocked nation in Western Africa. Mali is the seventh largest country in Africa, bordering Algeria on the north, Niger on the east, Burkina Faso and the Côte d'Ivoire on the south, Guinea on the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania on the west. Its size is just over 1,240,000 km² with an estimated population of almost 12,000,000. Its capital is Bamako."



BBC News:
Mali is one of the world's poorest nations. Since independence from France in 1960 it has suffered droughts, rebellions, a coup and 23 years of military dictatorship.
Major languages: French, Bambara, Berber, Arabic
Major religions: Islam, indigenous beliefs
Monetary unit: 1 CFA (Communaute Financiere Africaine) franc = 100 centimes
Main exports: Cotton, gold, livestock



Places online Places to visit
Bamako, estimated population over 1 million people, is the both the capital and an important port of Mali. It lies on the upper Niger River, in the southwest of the country.Bamako is the nation's administrative centre, a junction on the Dakar-Niger RR and a major regional trade centre.
In the 18th century Bamako was a village of several hundred households with the main industries being fishing and agriculture.Today Bamako is a charming city, with a botanical and zoological park and many decorative gardens. The city also has an international airport.



Djenne is a historical city in Mali. Situated in the Niger Delta, it has an ethnically diverse population of about 12,000 inhabitants. Djenne was founded in about 300 BC. A centre of learning and trade, it was a large-scale market in the trade of gold, salt and slaves.
Today, Djenne’s trade is based on agriculture, coffee, kola nuts and fish, as well as tourism.



Niono is located in the Segou region of Mali and can be easily accessed through waterways. In the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, Niono was a critical juncture in the camel-borne trans-Saharan trade in salt and gold, which generated enormous wealth for Mali. Even today, Niono is a key centre for rice production, aided by the annual inundation by the Niger.




The city of Segou is situated in Mali, around 325 km north-east of Bamako, on the River Niger. Segou is the second largest city. The city is characterised by a tropical climate. The city has an ancient and eventful history. It was founded in 1620 by the Bozo people, and it evolved during the late seventeenth century at the time of political and social instability in Southern Mali. Under the French rule, Segou was an important administrative centre.
Architecture has always been a significant pursuit in the city and archaeological evidence suggests that the place has been home to several imposing and impressive structures.




Timbuktu is an ancient town in Mali. Situated at the northern most point of the River Niger, it is home to 4,000 inhabitants. Timbuktu was the spiritual centre in the propagation of Islam throughout Africa, in the 15th-16th centuries.
Today the economy of the town depends on Saharan-trade, the salt mines, agriculture, livestock and tourism. The local population is of Songhay, Tuareg, Fulani and Moorish origins.