Nicknamed the "Jewel of the Niger",Djenne is indisputably the mostbeautiful city in Mali, and without doubtall of West Africa, and it's not just bychance that UNESCO listed the city asa World Heritage Site in 1988.

Djenne, the jewel of Mali.Photos and text ©Bruno Morandi/LightMediation

Contact - Thierry Tinacci - LightMediation Photo Agency - +33 (0)6 61 80 57 21 thierry@lightmediation.com

2431-33: Mali, Djenne, Unesco World Heritage, woman on the way to the Monday market.

2431-01: Mali, Djenne, Unesco World Heritage, the biggest mud mosque of the world, Monday market 2431-02: Mali, Djenne, Unesco World Heritage, the biggest mud mosque of the world

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2431-05: Mali, Djenne, Unesco World Heritage, the biggest mud mosque of the world

2431-09: Mali, Djenne, Unesco World Heritage, the biggest mud mosque of the world, Monday market 2431-10: Mali, Djenne, Unesco World Heritage, the biggest mud mosque of the world, Monday market

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2431-41: Mali, Djenne, Unesco world heritage, Senossa village around Djenne, Peul ethnic group woman. 2431-44: Mali, Djenne, Unesco world heritage, Senossa village around Djenne, Peul ethnic group woman.

2431-17: Mali, Djenne, Unesco World Heritage, Maïga house, Toucouleur style house. 2431-18: Mali, Djenne, Unesco World Heritage, Maïga house, Toucouleur style house.

2431-19: Mali, Djenne, Unesco World Heritage, Marocan style house. 2431-20: Mali. Djenne, Manual fabrication of Bogolon. Tapestry of coton.

2431-21: Mali. Djenne, Manual fabrication of Bogolon. Tapestry of coton. 2431-22: Mali. Djenne, Manual fabrication of Bogolon. Tapestry of coton.

2431-23: Mali, Djenne, woman crushing millet. 2431-24: Mali, Djenne, woman crushing millet.

2431-27: Mali, Djenne, Unesco World Heritage, Boat on the Boni river.

2431-25: Mali, Djenne, Unesco World Heritage, Marocan style house. Young boys. 2431-26: Mali, Djenne, Unesco World Heritage, shepherd on the street.

2431-27: Mali, Djenne, Unesco World Heritage, Boat on the Boni river. 2431-28: Mali, Djenne, Unesco World Heritage, Boat on the Boni river.

2431-29: Mali, Djenne, Unesco World Heritage, Boat on the Boni river. 2431-30: Mali, Djenne, Unesco World Heritage, Boat on the Boni river.

2431-31: Mali, Djenne, Unesco World Heritage, woman on the way to the Monday market. 2431-32: Mali, Djenne, Unesco World Heritage, woman on the way to the Monday market.

2431-21: Mali. Djenne, Manual fabrication of Bogolon. Tapestry of coton.

2431-33: Mali, Djenne, Unesco World Heritage, woman on the way to the Monday market. 2431-34: Mali, Djenne, Unesco world heritage, Monday market, Bambara ethnic group woman.

2431-35: Mali, Djenne, Unesco world heritage, Monday market, Bambara ethnic group woman. 2431-36: Mali, Djenne, Unesco world heritage, Monday market, Bambara ethnic group woman.

2431-37: Mali, Djenne, Unesco world heritage, Monday market, Peul ethnic group woman. 2431-38: Mali, Djenne, Unesco world heritage, Monday market, Peul ethnic group woman.

2431-39: Mali, Djenne, Unesco world heritage, Monday market, Peul ethnic group woman, gold earring. 2431-40: Mali, Djenne, Unesco world heritage, Senossa village around Djenne, Peul ethnic group woman.

2431-17: Mali, Djenne, Unesco World Heritage, Maïga house, Toucouleur style house.

2431-41: Mali, Djenne, Unesco world heritage, Senossa village around Djenne, Peul ethnic group woman. 2431-42: Mali, Djenne, Unesco world heritage, Senossa village around Djenne, Peul ethnic groupwoman.

2431-43: Mali, Djenne, Unesco World Heritage, Peul shepherd 2431-44: Mali, Djenne, Unesco world heritage, Senossa village around Djenne, Peul ethnic group woman.

2431-45: Mali, Djenne, Unesco world heritage, Senossa village around Djenne, Peul ethnic group woman. 2431-46: Mali, Djenne, Unesco World Heritage, Peul shepherd

2431-47: Mali, Djenne, Unesco World Heritage, Peul shepherd, silver ring. 2431-48: Mali, Djenne, Unesco World Heritage, Peul shepherd, silver ring.

2431-15: Mali, Djenne, Unesco World Heritage, Monday market

2431-49: Mali, Djenne, Unesco World Heritage, Peul shepherd 2431-50: Mali, Djenne, traditional musician (Griot).

2431-51: Mali, djenne, transhumance of the cattle from Peul ethnic group, crossing Bani river. 2431-52: Mali, djenne, transhumance of the cattle from Peul ethnic group, crossing Bani river.

2431-53: Mali, djenne, transhumance of the cattle from Peul ethnic group, crossing Bani river. 2431-54: Mali, djenne, transhumance of the cattle from Peul ethnic group, crossing Bani river.

2431-55: Mali, djenne, transhumance of the cattle from Peul ethnic group, crossing Bani river. 2431-56: Aids campaign at the back of a local bus.

2431-38: Mali, Djenne, Unesco world heritage, Monday market, Peul ethnic group woman.

Djenne, thejewel of Mali.

The pinasse glides silently along the tepidwaters of the Boni river. Aboard, Fulaniwomen dressed in bright colors anddecked with gold and amber jewelry aregoing to the market in Djenne, which,every Monday since a thousand yearsago, brings together the population of thecity and its surrounding areas. At the footof the big mosque, the square livens upquite early in the morning, with thetradespeople setting up their stands andthe bush taxis, the carts and the trucksdisgorging their load of peasants. Seenfrom a terrace overhanging the square,the spectacle of this gaily-colored crowdand that earthen architecture iscaptivating. The market buys and sellspell-mell dried fish, colorful fabrics, sheep,rock salt, vegetables, medicinal herbs... Nicknamed the "Jewel of the Niger",Djenne is indisputably the most beautifulcity in Mali, and without doubt all of WestAfrica, and it's not just by chance thatUNESCO listed the city as a WorldHeritage Site in 1988. Twin sister toTimbuktu, Djenne was founded in the 9thcentury to aid trade between the people ofthe desert to the north and those of theforests to the south. Directly connected toTimbuktu by a river, Djenne was thecrossroads of the Salt and the GoldRoutes. From the 16th to the 17th centurythe city was under Moroccan dominationbefore passing into the hands of theToucouleurs, then the French (1893). Inaddition to trade, Djenne was an importantcenter of pilgrimage and religious teachingfor all of West Africa. Without being particularly difficult to reach,

it is still necessary to cover 600 km ofpotholed road to reach Djenne from thecapital Bamako. 30 km before arriving, thestraight road dominates the soft green ricefields flecked with a few white wadingbirds. It then passes through the firstvillages of houses built of banco (a mix ofstraw, earth and shea butter), giving a hintalready of what's to come in that famousjewel. And then there is the wait for theferry to cross the Boni River, a tributary ofthe Niger and final contretemps beforefinally reaching the city. Sitting on an island, the medieval city isentirely built of banco. The same color asthe ground, magnificent houses seem torise right out of the earth. Nothing haschanged since the founding of the city,even if water and electricity appeared justa short time ago. Strolling the narrow andwinding lanes of Djenne takes you intoanother world altogether. Two styles ofarchitecture dominate: Moroccanarchitecture, older, and that of theToucouleurs with more rounded contoursand recognizable by an earthen awning toprotect them from evil spirits. But the "must" is without doubt themosque. It is the biggest mosque in theworld and its origins go back to 1240. Itwas rebuilt by Sheikh Amadou in 1830 butthe present-day version was designed bythe architect Ismaël Traoré, head of themasons of Djenne. If Djenne haswithstood the tests of time it is mostlythanks to this corporation of masons,which has perpetuated an ancestralknow-how up to the present day. In the surrounding villages, the ethnicgroup of the Bozos, a fishing people, andthe Fulani, livestock breeders, livetogether. In Autumn, in Sofara, a fewkilometers to the north of Djenne, the bigherds of cows and goats gather togetherand get ready to cross the Boni River togo to winter pasture. Herd by herd, the

cattle throw themselves into the water.The shepherds swim next to the animalsto prevent them from circling back. Theluckier goats are transported by pinasses.This gathering, a thousand year oldcustom also, is of course the occasion fora big reunion party before the shepherdshead off again to their solitude.