ONLY MALI AND SEGOU ESTIVAL

Mali

Departure: Bamako 25/1/2009 • Arrival: Bamako 1/2/2009

Category: Special Trip

• 8 days in Mali
• overnights in hotels and camps

One week in Mali, with the possibility of participating to the Music Festival in Segou, along the banks of the Niger. Music, ryithm and dances in one of the most colourful regions of Western Africa, rich in arts and traditions.

Large tree-shaded boulevards interweave through the city of Bamako and the colonnaded buildings still remind us today of the colonial times of yester-year. Sellers crowd the square in front of the Mosque, trading their wares of amulets and traditional medicinal ingredients reflecting an Islamic world that has merged well with everyday African magic.

Segou stands testimony to many old stories of past, powerful kingdoms and is one of the most ancient historical sites in all of West Africa. Segou is also a land of music and traditional dances. The Festival on the Niger is a unique experience, featuring not only well-known music and dancing groups but also artists who are known only in this region, who play along the banks of the river. But this second edition itinerary has a few new surprises: aside from the traditional music and dance events, there will also be some extra performances, story and legend tellers, art exhibitions…

Djenne is the most beautiful and untouched caravan town in the southern Sahara. Its architectural Sudanese style dates back to the XIV century. The buildings that housed the important families who managed the Saharan trades, the Koranic schools, the mosque [which is also the largest clay building in the world] come together to create a unique town that truly merits the title of UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The town of Mopti is built on three islands where the Bani and Niger rivers converge. The town is alive with the different cultures of the region: Bozo fishermen, Dogon, Bambara and Bella farmers, Tuareg and Peul shepherds all come together in front of the big harbour, making Mopti the most important trade centre of the region.

In this region, on the borderline that runs between savannah and desert, the immense water basin of the Niger (known locally as Joliba) divides into hundreds of branches, lakes and ponds: a vast “spider’s web” of interconnecting waterways. The villages in this region are inhabited by Fulani, Bozo and Songhay, some reachable only by pirogue. The striking beauty of the adobe architecture is a feast for the eyes: the mosques with a “personalized” style for each of the ethnic groups… the homes built along the water courses… the tiny fishermen shelters on small islands… the rangy canoes with their unique shape….

Today Timbuktu is a small clay town built on sand. And since the clay and sand share the same colours, shades and tones, Timbuktu truly looks as though it is part of the desert itself – a piece of the Sahara that has taken on the shapes of the rectangular bricks used to lay the foundations of the town.

The Dogon cliff is a landscape that will leave you breathless. On the cliffs, the Dogon people live in brown clay houses perched on the edge of the rocky slopes. In the caves just above them, lies the “village of the spirits” built in red clay by the mystical Tellem, which has been there since before the arrival of the Dogon people …

Groupe of minimum 13 participants: 930 euro each person in double room/tent

Groupe of 10-12 participants: 990 euro each person

Groupe of 6-9 participants: 1.050 euro each person

Groupe of 4-5 participants: 1.160 euro each person

Supplement single room 170 euro.

Full board from the breakfast of the second day till the lunch of the last day

The prices don't include the international flight from and to the country of origin

For more informations: transafrica@transafrica.biz