Farafina Tigne - Mopti

Of all the larger cities in Mali, Mopti ranks as perhaps the most strategic. It's the first major stop for river traffic headed to or from Timbuktu. It is also a crossroad of cultures, and the hub for journeys to Djenne, the Dogon Country and Timbuktu. As the nexus for trade and a magnet for tourists, it's not surprising that Farafina Tigne is headquartered in this region. In Mopti, tourism is a contact sport, with more guides, pinasse owners and souvenir merchants per square metre than anywhere else in Mali.

Built on three islands connected by dikes, Mopti is the country’s major route intersection. People from many groups call Mopti home, including the Bambara, Songhai, Fulani, Tuaregs, the Bellas, Moors, Bozos, and Dogon. Once a Bozo fishing village, it has the largest river port in what was the French Sudan and has a population of about 100,000 people. Pirogues and their larger counterpart, the pinasse, carry goods up and down the Bani and Niger rivers. Transport is even possible to Timbuktu during and immediately after the rainy season. Mopti is an interesting market town where people go to trade for fish and salt. Vendors at the colourful handicraft market sell cloth, leather goods, masks, jewellery, amber and intricately woven Fulani wedding blankets. ... Click here for more.