MALI ~ Harbour - Mopti ~

... Great postcard nr2 from world traveler David's African adventure... and congratulations, he now has been to all countries on the African continent☝... don't think many people can say that... at the river harbour primary and most important is the loading and unloading of cargo and passengers... you can even see horses on the "Tombouctou", a large passenger boat o͜͡o... the city of Mopti is also called "the Venice of Mali" thanks to the pinnaces (ship's boat) each with their unique colors that lines the port... Big Thanks once more David!! (✿ ♥‿♥)

Mopti is located at the confluence of the Niger and Bani rivers in eastern Mali. Originally a small fishing village, Mopti has become an important commercial town and the centre of Mali’s fishing and livestock industries.

The town is located on three islands and is one of the most densely populated areas in Mali. The harbour is situated along the Bani River in the Inner Niger Delta.

 Major crops grown in the surrounding area are onions, millet, rice, cassava, and peanuts. Livestock raising and fishing are also significant.

The major population groups are the Dogon, Fulani, Bambara, Bozo, Bwa, Songhai, and Tukulor.



Photo: Diango Cissé

Stamps:

Timbuktu Manuscripts
(Issued 2015)

Exhibits from the National Museum
(Issued 2001-2003)

Fauna - Wild Cats
(Issued 11-01-2014)

MALI ~ Dogon Country - UNESCO ~

... Wonderful African child postcard... what a lucky coincidenceヅ... my second surprise card of this amazing "rare" African country within a couple of days... this place is regarded today as the jewel of tourism in West Africa... a unique culture... the Dogon live in a mysterious world of symbols, signs, hieroglyphics, colors, and emblems...  Big Thanks Taouvik Boukari and Maick!! ➞ A Journey of Postcards ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

The Dogon are an ethnic group living in the central plateau region of the country.  Today, some 300,000 Dogon live along a roughly 200-kilometer long swath of land against the Badiagara Cliffs.

They are best known for their religious traditions, their mask dances, wooden sculpture and their architecture.

The past century has seen significant changes in the social organization, material culture and beliefs of the Dogon, partly because Dogon country is one of Mali's major tourist attractions.

Dogon country was inscribed as an UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1989.



ⒸMexichrome - Collection Djenebou

Stamps:

Timbuktu Manuscripts
(Issued 2015)

MALI ~ Djinguereber Mosque - Timbuktu - UNESCO ~

... Happy mailbox day ㋡... one more fantastic new African country in my collection♥... Timbuktu is one of  the world’s most exotic and isolated destinations... a postcard showing probably the most impressive sight in the city...  an interesting thing to note about the The Djinguereber, is the fact that the historic mosque miraculously escaped being totally demolished by al-Qaida and Ansar Dine-led Islamic terrorists back in 2012 when they seized the town of Timbuktu burning thousands of ancient manuscripts and all the city’s mausoleums...

I got this great postcard thanks to Joseph and Assumpta who supported this amazing project https://www.postcardsfromtimbuktu.com/  to help unemployed tour guides in Mali make money... the radical Islamist occupation in 2012 and continued threats put a stop to tourism in northern Mali.

And how does you get your postcard???  I found this interesting article on BBC News:
Once you've paid up, the words you write are sent via Whatsapp to a writer in Timbuktu. The note is then delivered by the postman on his bike to Timbuktu's Post Office where it gets its all important stamp. Then it's sent back to Mali's capital Bamako, sometimes through a hitched ride on a UN flight down to the city. This is essential as it's only possible to send mail internationally from Bamako. "It's been really interesting for the former tour guides because they are used to interacting with people all over the world and although there are fewer tourists now, they can still be ambassadors for Timbuktu through this." The team have sent hundreds of postcards with interest surging. Phil says the current business model means the tour guides get about $6 after shipping, printing, the website platform costs and taxes are set aside. "So for a $10 postcard, they get a decent amount of money for what amounts to a few minutes' work really."

Thanks a million Josep and Assumpta for this wonderful surprise and supporting this project of which I never heard before!! (✿ ♥‿♥)➜ Letters and postcards from around

Most of Mali, in West Africa, lies in the Sahara. A landlocked country bordered by Guinea, Senegal, Mauritania, Algeria, Niger, Burkina Faso, and the Côte d'Ivoire. The only fertile area is in the south, where the Niger and Senegal rivers provide water for irrigation.

Timbuktu was a thriving center of scholarship instrumental to the spread of Islam in Africa.

The Djinguereber Mosque (Masjid)  is a famous learning center of Mali built in 1327. Its design is accredited to Abu Es Haq es Saheli who was paid 200 kg (40,000 mithqals) of gold by Musa I of Mali,

Djinguereber mosque, in common with most buildings in city-centre Timbuktu, is constructed in mud brick; more elegantly known as “earthen architecture”. It’s a method in which layer upon layer of wet soil (“banco” or adobe) is rendered on to limestone rocks or onto bricks made from banco. In other parts of Mali, where humidity rates are higher, straw is mixed in as binding. The method is durable but requires regular maintenance.

 This West African city was added to the World Heritage List in 1988,

Stamps:

 Fauna - Wild Cats
(Issued 11-01-2014)