Ancient Glory, Modern Reality
New ideas are hard-won in a society as rooted in the past as Mali. This, after all, is the legendary "Kingdom of Gold" that reached its apex of glory in the 13th and 14th centuries and made trading and religious cities like Tombouctou famous throughout the world.

Djenné, the so-called "twin city" of Tombouctou, is a case in point. It is one of the oldest and most majestic of the West African trading towns, a medieval labyrinth of twisting streets and fantastically shaped mud buildings that turn the color of pumpkin in the afternoon sun. At the center of the town, as in all small towns across Islamic Africa, stands a mosque. Only in Djenné, it is the famous Grand Mosque, a mighty turreted structure gated by colossal wood doors. Built at the end of the 13th century and rebuilt several times since, it is considered one of the wonders of the Islamic -- if not the entire -- world.

Djenné is a religious center, a city in which old men dream of retiring so that they may sit in the shade of a tree and read the Koran softly to their grandchildren. But historically, Djenné was a city of wealth. Its fabulous Monday Market, today a prime tourist attraction, harkens back to its 14th and 15th century glory when it was one of the main cities (along with Tombouctou) straddling lucrative trans-Saharan trading routes. The movement of ivory, salt, slaves and most importantly, gold, kept cities like Djenné prosperous and provided monarchs as far away as England with precious metal to underpin their currency.

Djenné's fortunes changed with the advent of European sea-trade which shut down the overland routes and placed Sahelian cities on the periphery of regional economics. The city and its twin, Tombouctou, once synonymous with fabulous wealth, became legends of remoteness. This sad shift is evident today in Djenné's quiet, dusty streets, limited infrastructure, and half-hearted attempts to create a tourist industry. Walking through its otherworldly red streets at dusk, the flicker of kerosene lamp the only illumination inside the dark houses, it is easy to imagine that you have stepped back into the 14th century.

CARE began working in Djenné in 1988 and remains one of the few humanitarian agencies to serve this historic place. CARE is well known and liked, not just for the health clinics and education committees it supports. A friendly soccer match between CARE staff and the staff of a local radio station is one of the prime events of the week, drawing thousands of Djenné's cheering residents to a flat, dusty field just outside the city walls.

Into the Inland Sea

Djenné sits on the banks of a tributary river of the Niger called the Bani, and it was into these waters that we launched ourselves, on a mission to see CARE's work with villages along the river. We traveled by pinasse, the long, saber-thin boats used by generations of fishermen and one of the primary modes of transport for more than 1,000 kilometers.

Continue to Day 2