Mali
The Capital City of Bamako
click to enlarge
Navigating the Niger River
click to enlarge
The Republic of Mali is a land-locked country in west
Africa. The Sahara Desert makes up a large portion of Mali, and the
remainder of the country is dry lowland with two main rivers, the Senegal and
the Niger. Mali has a diverse population of Black and Arabian Africans,
including: the Bambara (majority group), the Fulani, Senufo, Soninke, Tuareg,
Songhay and Malinke. Mali boasts one of the richest histories of any country in
Africa, with powerful empires controlling the desert and trading with Europeans
and Arabs. From the 4th through 16th centuries, several prominent kingdoms
built great institutes of art and learning throughout Mali. The three
major kingdoms were: Ghana, Mali, and Songhay. For more info, check the History
of Mali.
Map
of Mali (from the University of Pennsylvania) |
Mali Links and Info (Penn) |
Mali Archaelogical Project |
Kingdoms
of Medieval Sudan Ancient Empires in West Africa |
Mali
News from Africa News Online |
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West
Africa.com news and general info |
Africa
Info West African general info |
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Sources:
A HISTORY OF AFRICA--J.D. Fage, 3rd Ed., Routledge, 1995
THE ROYAL KINGDOMS OF GHANA, MALI, AND SONGHAY--Patricia and Frederick
McKissack, Holt and Co., 1994
WEST AFRICA--Lonely Planet, 3rd Ed., 1995
HISTORY ATLAS OF AFRICA--Samuel Kasule, Macmillian, 1998
WORLD FACTBOOK--Keith Lye, Avon, 1995