On my way to Timbucktoo my bus passed D’Jenni a small village renowned for being built on an island with thetmud taken from the river banks. So hell I hopped off the bus at the D’Jen ani Carrefour or junction and caught a local bus heading to D’Jenni to check it out. Heck it was only about 30 mins and after all my long distance ride hell I could do that standing on my head.
We had to cross the Niger River by ferry which was an antiquated barge that carried 2 vehicles at a time the 200 meters. Of course as in customary as soon as we get off the bus we get attacked by all the hawkers selling their wares. I’ve got to the point now where I just ignore them or pretend I don’t understand what they’re saying which of course I don’t!
Since the village is built on an island in the river it’s very dusty but shit where isn’t in Mali?? But I’ve got a bandana to cover my nose and mouth cus my allergies, throat, nose and at times my asthma have bothered me a lot.
I found an Auberge / French I think for cheap hotel cus everyone I’ve stayed had cheap rooms ir dorms / dortier in French! This one had a nice restaurant set in a courtyard with probably nice rooms set around them. But the one I got for the price I paid was located across the dirt parking lot in the dorm building. It was Ok cus they had a couple ceiling fans and a shower / douche (yes a shower is douche in French so all u Douchebags are shower bags, ha ha) .
The village itself was quite small with the usual market place with ppl selling all kinds of shit. But I did manage to pick up some food from a street stall. So I returned to the hotel to eat my goodies. On the way I met a couple of guys camping there as they were driving thier camper van from Switzerland to South Africa. Bruno and Adrian had quit their jobs, sold their stuff and were headed out for as long as their money lasted or van took them. We hung out that evening and ended up having a couple of beers until they stopped serving which in Mali is usually around 11 pm (the starting time for most countries but what the heck at least they served cold beer). We also met a couple of Americans who were working/volunteering for the Peace Corp in Ghana for the past couple years. So they told us about just returning from Timbucktoo and Dogan Country (an interesting trip to a tribe of people called Dogans living in a number of villages east of where we were). The 2 Swiss guys and I were heading that way so of course as travelers we always respond to travel information from people who just did what we planned to do. Bruno and Adrian were planning to head out to Mopti (the sort of gateway or central town which is the starting point to arrange transportation to Timbucktoo, Dogan Country and of course D’Jenni) the next day as they wanted to get a pierce for one of their shock or whatever (heck I’m no mechanic so it’s all Swiss to me but Bruno is) so we said our goodbyes.
The next morning I was up early as I usually do to avoid the heat and cus its usua lly quite noisy in these villages. So I walked around checking out the village and taking some pictures. I checked out their central Mosque which was still being rebuilt as the original one was built a long time ago. It had been desinginated as a Heritage site by whoever gives out these citations. They were offering tours of the mosque for a fee of about $20. But I’m not big on tours so I gave it a miss! I was told I believe that most of the Muslims in Mali are followers of Aga Khan sect like the Muslims in East Africa who originally came from India and were called Ismalis. But most were booted out of Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania in the 1970’s when Idi Amin was in power in Uganda. These Indian people weren’t popular cus they were success business people and controlled most shops and commercial establishments. It seemed like they were treated like the Jewish people were during an earlier period. So of most Indians of East Africa took their wealth in gold and ended up in England and eventually Canada. So now these Indians are wealthy business people in these countries and their children all successful university graduates. I wouldn’t say they are discriminated in Canada but they do mainly hang out with their own people at their mosques. So of course most Canadians don’t know them much except as Aga Khan Muslims who are successful and easy to get with in a job. Sorry got carried away with a little bit of the East African people that I’ve met and learned about.
Ok so in D’jenni , in most cases they use mud blocks (similar to cement blocks that we use in North America) to fashion the houses. However it appeared in a lot cases that actual blocks weren’t only used but just a bunch of mud. But it may have started as mud blocks but over time with repair, etc the appearance turned out to be just mud houses. One of the people told me that after a severe rainy season some maintenance has to be done to the mud homes. Heck I could see if it rained a lot than the mud may start to come apart in places. But in most cases only some minor repairs have to be done. It’s kind of cool how they used products that is in abundance to build their homes. But shit the Eskimos build igloos out of snow since its in abundance. So why not use mud to build homes cus I’ve told the mud homes are cool in the hot season and warmer in cool weather (but wonder if they have any cool weather). But to me it may be cooler but it probably is a damp type cool not a hey that’s Cool type cool, ha ha! Anyway it’s smart that they use material that is all over the place. Now if they could just figure out what they could build with all the dust, heat, flies, mosquitos, donkey and goat shit than they’d all be multimillionaires!!!
I went to the outskirts of the village to see how they manage to build the mud blocks their houses, etc. So it seemed that by the river they dug a big hole in the mud or just removed the mud and it resulted in a big hole (not being an construction engineer I couldn’t quite figure which caused what to happen). Regardless it kind of reminded me of my misspent childhood when we made mud pies, etc. They took a bunch of mud and mixed in some water until it got to the right consistency to made mud blocks. Then they added some grass to hold the mud together better. Then they carved them into the size of cement blocks and put them out in the sun to dry and hauled to building sites by donkey carts. I don’t know how these blocks stood up in the rainy season if they were just left without being used in a building. But sure that the addition of the straw helped to reinforce the mud similar to steel rods do in cement. But it was all interesting to witness as Mud homes seem to be in fashion all over Mali which maybe originated in D’Jenni. So I witnessed a trend setting fashion. It got me thinking I wonder if the trend would catch on in areas where the vegetation along hillsides are lost due to forest fires like in Southern California or in Nepal where they chop down trees without much thought to erosion! Hey since I don’t know Nepalese but can maybe converse withone speaking Austriaglish well I should make a suggestion to Arnold about rebuilding burned homes with mud houses. Heck it would be like turning a tragedy into a bit of a success story. Cus hell there is a of mud after after the forest fires and mud slides in Southern California. So they rebuild lost mansions with Mud homes thus saving the state and Insurance companies tons of money! Sorry got carried away again as the idiotic mind can come up with some pretty scatter brain ideas!
Well I saw all I wanted see in 3 hours and got back and found Bruno and Adrian just getting up. We had planned to keep in touch by email to tell each other where we were staying in Mopti so we could get together to plan transportation or ideas to get to Timbuckoo and Dogan Country. So I thought hey maybe I could pay them some gas money and ride with them to Mopti and then wouldn’t have to try and connect thru email in the next couple days. They are easy going travelers and had no problem with that so I hooked a ride to Mopti about a 2 hrs drive away.
D’Jenni , a village on an Island where all the buildings are made of Mud & the Mosque is a World Heritage Site
On my way to Timbucktoo my bus passed D’Jenni a small village renowned for being built on an island with thetmud taken from the river banks. So hell I hopped off the bus at the D’Jen ani Carrefour or junction and caught a local bus heading to D’Jenni to check it out. Heck it was only about 30 mins and after all my long distance ride hell I could do that standing on my head.
We had to cross the Niger River by ferry which was an antiquated barge that carried 2 vehicles at a time the 200 meters. Of course as in customary as soon as we get off the bus we get attacked by all the hawkers selling their wares. I’ve got to the point now where I just ignore them or pretend I don’t understand what they’re saying which of course I don’t!
Since the village is built on an island in the river it’s very dusty but shit where isn’t in Mali?? But I’ve got a bandana to cover my nose and mouth cus my allergies, throat, nose and at times my asthma have bothered me a lot.
I found an Auberge / French I think for cheap hotel cus everyone I’ve stayed had cheap rooms ir dorms / dortier in French! This one had a nice restaurant set in a courtyard with probably nice rooms set around them. But the one I got for the price I paid was located across the dirt parking lot in the dorm building. It was Ok cus they had a couple ceiling fans and a shower / douche (yes a shower is douche in French so all u Douchebags are shower bags, ha ha) .
The village itself was quite small with the usual market place with ppl selling all kinds of shit. But I did manage to pick up some food from a street stall. So I returned to the hotel to eat my goodies. On the way I met a couple of guys camping there as they were driving thier camper van from Switzerland to South Africa. Bruno and Adrian had quit their jobs, sold their stuff and were headed out for as long as their money lasted or van took them. We hung out that evening and ended up having a couple of beers until they stopped serving which in Mali is usually around 11 pm (the starting time for most countries but what the heck at least they served cold beer). We also met a couple of Americans who were working/volunteering for the Peace Corp in Ghana for the past couple years. So they told us about just returning from Timbucktoo and Dogan Country (an interesting trip to a tribe of people called Dogans living in a number of villages east of where we were). The 2 Swiss guys and I were heading that way so of course as travelers we always respond to travel information from people who just did what we planned to do. Bruno and Adrian were planning to head out to Mopti (the sort of gateway or central town which is the starting point to arrange transportation to Timbucktoo, Dogan Country and of course D’Jenni) the next day as they wanted to get a pierce for one of their shock or whatever (heck I’m no mechanic so it’s all Swiss to me but Bruno is) so we said our goodbyes.
The next morning I was up early as I usually do to avoid the heat and cus its usua lly quite noisy in these villages. So I walked around checking out the village and taking some pictures. I checked out their central Mosque which was still being rebuilt as the original one was built a long time ago. It had been desinginated as a Heritage site by whoever gives out these citations. They were offering tours of the mosque for a fee of about $20. But I’m not big on tours so I gave it a miss! I was told I believe that most of the Muslims in Mali are followers of Aga Khan sect like the Muslims in East Africa who originally came from India and were called Ismalis. But most were booted out of Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania in the 1970’s when Idi Amin was in power in Uganda. These Indian people weren’t popular cus they were success business people and controlled most shops and commercial establishments. It seemed like they were treated like the Jewish people were during an earlier period. So of most Indians of East Africa took their wealth in gold and ended up in England and eventually Canada. So now these Indians are wealthy business people in these countries and their children all successful university graduates. I wouldn’t say they are discriminated in Canada but they do mainly hang out with their own people at their mosques. So of course most Canadians don’t know them much except as Aga Khan Muslims who are successful and easy to get with in a job. Sorry got carried away with a little bit of the East African people that I’ve met and learned about.
Ok so in D’jenni , in most cases they use mud blocks (similar to cement blocks that we use in North America) to fashion the houses. However it appeared in a lot cases that actual blocks weren’t only used but just a bunch of mud. But it may have started as mud blocks but over time with repair, etc the appearance turned out to be just mud houses. One of the people told me that after a severe rainy season some maintenance has to be done to the mud homes. Heck I could see if it rained a lot than the mud may start to come apart in places. But in most cases only some minor repairs have to be done. It’s kind of cool how they used products that is in abundance to build their homes. But shit the Eskimos build igloos out of snow since its in abundance. So why not use mud to build homes cus I’ve told the mud homes are cool in the hot season and warmer in cool weather (but wonder if they have any cool weather). But to me it may be cooler but it probably is a damp type cool not a hey that’s Cool type cool, ha ha! Anyway it’s smart that they use material that is all over the place. Now if they could just figure out what they could build with all the dust, heat, flies, mosquitos, donkey and goat shit than they’d all be multimillionaires!!!
I went to the outskirts of the village to see how they manage to build the mud blocks their houses, etc. So it seemed that by the river they dug a big hole in the mud or just removed the mud and it resulted in a big hole (not being an construction engineer I couldn’t quite figure which caused what to happen). Regardless it kind of reminded me of my misspent childhood when we made mud pies, etc. They took a bunch of mud and mixed in some water until it got to the right consistency to made mud blocks. Then they added some grass to hold the mud together better. Then they carved them into the size of cement blocks and put them out in the sun to dry and hauled to building sites by donkey carts. I don’t know how these blocks stood up in the rainy season if they were just left without being used in a building. But sure that the addition of the straw helped to reinforce the mud similar to steel rods do in cement. But it was all interesting to witness as Mud homes seem to be in fashion all over Mali which maybe originated in D’Jenni. So I witnessed a trend setting fashion. It got me thinking I wonder if the trend would catch on in areas where the vegetation along hillsides are lost due to forest fires like in Southern California or in Nepal where they chop down trees without much thought to erosion! Hey since I don’t know Nepalese but can maybe converse withone speaking Austriaglish well I should make a suggestion to Arnold about rebuilding burned homes with mud houses. Heck it would be like turning a tragedy into a bit of a success story. Cus hell there is a of mud after after the forest fires and mud slides in Southern California. So they rebuild lost mansions with Mud homes thus saving the state and Insurance companies tons of money! Sorry got carried away again as the idiotic mind can come up with some pretty scatter brain ideas!
Well I saw all I wanted see in 3 hours and got back and found Bruno and Adrian just getting up. We had planned to keep in touch by email to tell each other where we were staying in Mopti so we could get together to plan transportation or ideas to get to Timbuckoo and Dogan Country. So I thought hey maybe I could pay them some gas money and ride with them to Mopti and then wouldn’t have to try and connect thru email in the next couple days. They are easy going travelers and had no problem with that so I hooked a ride to Mopti about a 2 hrs drive away.
D’Jenni , a village on an Island where all the buildings are made of Mud & the Mosque is a World Heritage Site
On my way to Timbucktoo my bus passed D’Jenni a small village renowned for being built on an island with thetmud taken from the river banks. So hell I hopped off the bus at the D’Jen ani Carrefour or junction and caught a local bus heading to D’Jenni to check it out. Heck it was only about 30 mins and after all my long distance ride hell I could do that standing on my head.
We had to cross the Niger River by ferry which was an antiquated barge that carried 2 vehicles at a time the 200 meters. Of course as in customary as soon as we get off the bus we get attacked by all the hawkers selling their wares. I’ve got to the point now where I just ignore them or pretend I don’t understand what they’re saying which of course I don’t!
Since the village is built on an island in the river it’s very dusty but shit where isn’t in Mali?? But I’ve got a bandana to cover my nose and mouth cus my allergies, throat, nose and at times my asthma have bothered me a lot.
I found an Auberge / French I think for cheap hotel cus everyone I’ve stayed had cheap rooms ir dorms / dortier in French! This one had a nice restaurant set in a courtyard with probably nice rooms set around them. But the one I got for the price I paid was located across the dirt parking lot in the dorm building. It was Ok cus they had a couple ceiling fans and a shower / douche (yes a shower is douche in French so all u Douchebags are shower bags, ha ha) .
The village itself was quite small with the usual market place with ppl selling all kinds of shit. But I did manage to pick up some food from a street stall. So I returned to the hotel to eat my goodies. On the way I met a couple of guys camping there as they were driving thier camper van from Switzerland to South Africa. Bruno and Adrian had quit their jobs, sold their stuff and were headed out for as long as their money lasted or van took them. We hung out that evening and ended up having a couple of beers until they stopped serving which in Mali is usually around 11 pm (the starting time for most countries but what the heck at least they served cold beer). We also met a couple of Americans who were working/volunteering for the Peace Corp in Ghana for the past couple years. So they told us about just returning from Timbucktoo and Dogan Country (an interesting trip to a tribe of people called Dogans living in a number of villages east of where we were). The 2 Swiss guys and I were heading that way so of course as travelers we always respond to travel information from people who just did what we planned to do. Bruno and Adrian were planning to head out to Mopti (the sort of gateway or central town which is the starting point to arrange transportation to Timbucktoo, Dogan Country and of course D’Jenni) the next day as they wanted to get a pierce for one of their shock or whatever (heck I’m no mechanic so it’s all Swiss to me but Bruno is) so we said our goodbyes.
The next morning I was up early as I usually do to avoid the heat and cus its usua lly quite noisy in these villages. So I walked around checking out the village and taking some pictures. I checked out their central Mosque which was still being rebuilt as the original one was built a long time ago. It had been desinginated as a Heritage site by whoever gives out these citations. They were offering tours of the mosque for a fee of about $20. But I’m not big on tours so I gave it a miss! I was told I believe that most of the Muslims in Mali are followers of Aga Khan sect like the Muslims in East Africa who originally came from India and were called Ismalis. But most were booted out of Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania in the 1970’s when Idi Amin was in power in Uganda. These Indian people weren’t popular cus they were success business people and controlled most shops and commercial establishments. It seemed like they were treated like the Jewish people were during an earlier period. So of most Indians of East Africa took their wealth in gold and ended up in England and eventually Canada. So now these Indians are wealthy business people in these countries and their children all successful university graduates. I wouldn’t say they are discriminated in Canada but they do mainly hang out with their own people at their mosques. So of course most Canadians don’t know them much except as Aga Khan Muslims who are successful and easy to get with in a job. Sorry got carried away with a little bit of the East African people that I’ve met and learned about.
Ok so in D’jenni , in most cases they use mud blocks (similar to cement blocks that we use in North America) to fashion the houses. However it appeared in a lot cases that actual blocks weren’t only used but just a bunch of mud. But it may have started as mud blocks but over time with repair, etc the appearance turned out to be just mud houses. One of the people told me that after a severe rainy season some maintenance has to be done to the mud homes. Heck I could see if it rained a lot than the mud may start to come apart in places. But in most cases only some minor repairs have to be done. It’s kind of cool how they used products that is in abundance to build their homes. But shit the Eskimos build igloos out of snow since its in abundance. So why not use mud to build homes cus I’ve told the mud homes are cool in the hot season and warmer in cool weather (but wonder if they have any cool weather). But to me it may be cooler but it probably is a damp type cool not a hey that’s Cool type cool, ha ha! Anyway it’s smart that they use material that is all over the place. Now if they could just figure out what they could build with all the dust, heat, flies, mosquitos, donkey and goat shit than they’d all be multimillionaires!!!
I went to the outskirts of the village to see how they manage to build the mud blocks their houses, etc. So it seemed that by the river they dug a big hole in the mud or just removed the mud and it resulted in a big hole (not being an construction engineer I couldn’t quite figure which caused what to happen). Regardless it kind of reminded me of my misspent childhood when we made mud pies, etc. They took a bunch of mud and mixed in some water until it got to the right consistency to made mud blocks. Then they added some grass to hold the mud together better. Then they carved them into the size of cement blocks and put them out in the sun to dry and hauled to building sites by donkey carts. I don’t know how these blocks stood up in the rainy season if they were just left without being used in a building. But sure that the addition of the straw helped to reinforce the mud similar to steel rods do in cement. But it was all interesting to witness as Mud homes seem to be in fashion all over Mali which maybe originated in D’Jenni. So I witnessed a trend setting fashion. It got me thinking I wonder if the trend would catch on in areas where the vegetation along hillsides are lost due to forest fires like in Southern California or in Nepal where they chop down trees without much thought to erosion! Hey since I don’t know Nepalese but can maybe converse withone speaking Austriaglish well I should make a suggestion to Arnold about rebuilding burned homes with mud houses. Heck it would be like turning a tragedy into a bit of a success story. Cus hell there is a of mud after after the forest fires and mud slides in Southern California. So they rebuild lost mansions with Mud homes thus saving the state and Insurance companies tons of money! Sorry got carried away again as the idiotic mind can come up with some pretty scatter brain ideas!
Well I saw all I wanted to see in 3 hours and got back and found Bruno and Adrian were just getting up. We had planned to keep in touch by email to tell each other where we were staying in Mopti so we could get together to plan transportation or ideas to get to Timbucktoo and Dogan Country. So I thought hey maybe I could pay them some gas money and ride with them to Mopti and then wouldn’t have to try and connect thru email in the next couple days. They are easy going travelers and had no problem with that so I hooked a ride to Mopti about a 2 hrs drive away.
We had to cross the Niger River by ferry which was an antiquated barge that carried 2 vehicles at a time the 200 meters. Of course as in customary as soon as we get off the bus we get attacked by all the hawkers selling their wares. I’ve got to the point now where I just ignore them or pretend I don’t understand what they’re saying which of course I don’t!
Since the village is built on an island in the river it’s very dusty but shit where isn’t in Mali?? But I’ve got a bandana to cover my nose and mouth cus my allergies, throat, nose and at times my asthma have bothered me a lot.
I found an Auberge / French I think for cheap hotel cus everyone I’ve stayed had cheap rooms ir dorms / dortier in French! This one had a nice restaurant set in a courtyard with probably nice rooms set around them. But the one I got for the price I paid was located across the dirt parking lot in the dorm building. It was Ok cus they had a couple ceiling fans and a shower / douche (yes a shower is douche in French so all u Douchebags are shower bags, ha ha) .
The village itself was quite small with the usual market place with ppl selling all kinds of shit. But I did manage to pick up some food from a street stall. So I returned to the hotel to eat my goodies. On the way I met a couple of guys camping there as they were driving thier camper van from Switzerland to South Africa. Bruno and Adrian had quit their jobs, sold their stuff and were headed out for as long as their money lasted or van took them. We hung out that evening and ended up having a couple of beers until they stopped serving which in Mali is usually around 11 pm (the starting time for most countries but what the heck at least they served cold beer). We also met a couple of Americans who were working/volunteering for the Peace Corp in Ghana for the past couple years. So they told us about just returning from Timbucktoo and Dogan Country (an interesting trip to a tribe of people called Dogans living in a number of villages east of where we were). The 2 Swiss guys and I were heading that way so of course as travelers we always respond to travel information from people who just did what we planned to do. Bruno and Adrian were planning to head out to Mopti (the sort of gateway or central town which is the starting point to arrange transportation to Timbucktoo, Dogan Country and of course D’Jenni) the next day as they wanted to get a pierce for one of their shock or whatever (heck I’m no mechanic so it’s all Swiss to me but Bruno is) so we said our goodbyes.
The next morning I was up early as I usually do to avoid the heat and cus its usua lly quite noisy in these villages. So I walked around checking out the village and taking some pictures. I checked out their central Mosque which was still being rebuilt as the original one was built a long time ago. It had been desinginated as a Heritage site by whoever gives out these citations. They were offering tours of the mosque for a fee of about $20. But I’m not big on tours so I gave it a miss! I was told I believe that most of the Muslims in Mali are followers of Aga Khan sect like the Muslims in East Africa who originally came from India and were called Ismalis. But most were booted out of Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania in the 1970’s when Idi Amin was in power in Uganda. These Indian people weren’t popular cus they were success business people and controlled most shops and commercial establishments. It seemed like they were treated like the Jewish people were during an earlier period. So of most Indians of East Africa took their wealth in gold and ended up in England and eventually Canada. So now these Indians are wealthy business people in these countries and their children all successful university graduates. I wouldn’t say they are discriminated in Canada but they do mainly hang out with their own people at their mosques. So of course most Canadians don’t know them much except as Aga Khan Muslims who are successful and easy to get with in a job. Sorry got carried away with a little bit of the East African people that I’ve met and learned about.
Ok so in D’jenni , in most cases they use mud blocks (similar to cement blocks that we use in North America) to fashion the houses. However it appeared in a lot cases that actual blocks weren’t only used but just a bunch of mud. But it may have started as mud blocks but over time with repair, etc the appearance turned out to be just mud houses. One of the people told me that after a severe rainy season some maintenance has to be done to the mud homes. Heck I could see if it rained a lot than the mud may start to come apart in places. But in most cases only some minor repairs have to be done. It’s kind of cool how they used products that is in abundance to build their homes. But shit the Eskimos build igloos out of snow since its in abundance. So why not use mud to build homes cus I’ve told the mud homes are cool in the hot season and warmer in cool weather (but wonder if they have any cool weather). But to me it may be cooler but it probably is a damp type cool not a hey that’s Cool type cool, ha ha! Anyway it’s smart that they use material that is all over the place. Now if they could just figure out what they could build with all the dust, heat, flies, mosquitos, donkey and goat shit than they’d all be multimillionaires!!!
I went to the outskirts of the village to see how they manage to build the mud blocks their houses, etc. So it seemed that by the river they dug a big hole in the mud or just removed the mud and it resulted in a big hole (not being an construction engineer I couldn’t quite figure which caused what to happen). Regardless it kind of reminded me of my misspent childhood when we made mud pies, etc. They took a bunch of mud and mixed in some water until it got to the right consistency to made mud blocks. Then they added some grass to hold the mud together better. Then they carved them into the size of cement blocks and put them out in the sun to dry and hauled to building sites by donkey carts. I don’t know how these blocks stood up in the rainy season if they were just left without being used in a building. But sure that the addition of the straw helped to reinforce the mud similar to steel rods do in cement. But it was all interesting to witness as Mud homes seem to be in fashion all over Mali which maybe originated in D’Jenni. So I witnessed a trend setting fashion. It got me thinking I wonder if the trend would catch on in areas where the vegetation along hillsides are lost due to forest fires like in Southern California or in Nepal where they chop down trees without much thought to erosion! Hey since I don’t know Nepalese but can maybe converse withone speaking Austriaglish well I should make a suggestion to Arnold about rebuilding burned homes with mud houses. Heck it would be like turning a tragedy into a bit of a success story. Cus hell there is a of mud after after the forest fires and mud slides in Southern California. So they rebuild lost mansions with Mud homes thus saving the state and Insurance companies tons of money! Sorry got carried away again as the idiotic mind can come up with some pretty scatter brain ideas!
Well I saw all I wanted see in 3 hours and got back and found Bruno and Adrian just getting up. We had planned to keep in touch by email to tell each other where we were staying in Mopti so we could get together to plan transportation or ideas to get to Timbuckoo and Dogan Country. So I thought hey maybe I could pay them some gas money and ride with them to Mopti and then wouldn’t have to try and connect thru email in the next couple days. They are easy going travelers and had no problem with that so I hooked a ride to Mopti about a 2 hrs drive away.
D’Jenni , a village on an Island where all the buildings are made of Mud & the Mosque is a World Heritage Site
On my way to Timbucktoo my bus passed D’Jenni a small village renowned for being built on an island with thetmud taken from the river banks. So hell I hopped off the bus at the D’Jen ani Carrefour or junction and caught a local bus heading to D’Jenni to check it out. Heck it was only about 30 mins and after all my long distance ride hell I could do that standing on my head.
We had to cross the Niger River by ferry which was an antiquated barge that carried 2 vehicles at a time the 200 meters. Of course as in customary as soon as we get off the bus we get attacked by all the hawkers selling their wares. I’ve got to the point now where I just ignore them or pretend I don’t understand what they’re saying which of course I don’t!
Since the village is built on an island in the river it’s very dusty but shit where isn’t in Mali?? But I’ve got a bandana to cover my nose and mouth cus my allergies, throat, nose and at times my asthma have bothered me a lot.
I found an Auberge / French I think for cheap hotel cus everyone I’ve stayed had cheap rooms ir dorms / dortier in French! This one had a nice restaurant set in a courtyard with probably nice rooms set around them. But the one I got for the price I paid was located across the dirt parking lot in the dorm building. It was Ok cus they had a couple ceiling fans and a shower / douche (yes a shower is douche in French so all u Douchebags are shower bags, ha ha) .
The village itself was quite small with the usual market place with ppl selling all kinds of shit. But I did manage to pick up some food from a street stall. So I returned to the hotel to eat my goodies. On the way I met a couple of guys camping there as they were driving thier camper van from Switzerland to South Africa. Bruno and Adrian had quit their jobs, sold their stuff and were headed out for as long as their money lasted or van took them. We hung out that evening and ended up having a couple of beers until they stopped serving which in Mali is usually around 11 pm (the starting time for most countries but what the heck at least they served cold beer). We also met a couple of Americans who were working/volunteering for the Peace Corp in Ghana for the past couple years. So they told us about just returning from Timbucktoo and Dogan Country (an interesting trip to a tribe of people called Dogans living in a number of villages east of where we were). The 2 Swiss guys and I were heading that way so of course as travelers we always respond to travel information from people who just did what we planned to do. Bruno and Adrian were planning to head out to Mopti (the sort of gateway or central town which is the starting point to arrange transportation to Timbucktoo, Dogan Country and of course D’Jenni) the next day as they wanted to get a pierce for one of their shock or whatever (heck I’m no mechanic so it’s all Swiss to me but Bruno is) so we said our goodbyes.
The next morning I was up early as I usually do to avoid the heat and cus its usua lly quite noisy in these villages. So I walked around checking out the village and taking some pictures. I checked out their central Mosque which was still being rebuilt as the original one was built a long time ago. It had been desinginated as a Heritage site by whoever gives out these citations. They were offering tours of the mosque for a fee of about $20. But I’m not big on tours so I gave it a miss! I was told I believe that most of the Muslims in Mali are followers of Aga Khan sect like the Muslims in East Africa who originally came from India and were called Ismalis. But most were booted out of Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania in the 1970’s when Idi Amin was in power in Uganda. These Indian people weren’t popular cus they were success business people and controlled most shops and commercial establishments. It seemed like they were treated like the Jewish people were during an earlier period. So of most Indians of East Africa took their wealth in gold and ended up in England and eventually Canada. So now these Indians are wealthy business people in these countries and their children all successful university graduates. I wouldn’t say they are discriminated in Canada but they do mainly hang out with their own people at their mosques. So of course most Canadians don’t know them much except as Aga Khan Muslims who are successful and easy to get with in a job. Sorry got carried away with a little bit of the East African people that I’ve met and learned about.
Ok so in D’jenni , in most cases they use mud blocks (similar to cement blocks that we use in North America) to fashion the houses. However it appeared in a lot cases that actual blocks weren’t only used but just a bunch of mud. But it may have started as mud blocks but over time with repair, etc the appearance turned out to be just mud houses. One of the people told me that after a severe rainy season some maintenance has to be done to the mud homes. Heck I could see if it rained a lot than the mud may start to come apart in places. But in most cases only some minor repairs have to be done. It’s kind of cool how they used products that is in abundance to build their homes. But shit the Eskimos build igloos out of snow since its in abundance. So why not use mud to build homes cus I’ve told the mud homes are cool in the hot season and warmer in cool weather (but wonder if they have any cool weather). But to me it may be cooler but it probably is a damp type cool not a hey that’s Cool type cool, ha ha! Anyway it’s smart that they use material that is all over the place. Now if they could just figure out what they could build with all the dust, heat, flies, mosquitos, donkey and goat shit than they’d all be multimillionaires!!!
I went to the outskirts of the village to see how they manage to build the mud blocks their houses, etc. So it seemed that by the river they dug a big hole in the mud or just removed the mud and it resulted in a big hole (not being an construction engineer I couldn’t quite figure which caused what to happen). Regardless it kind of reminded me of my misspent childhood when we made mud pies, etc. They took a bunch of mud and mixed in some water until it got to the right consistency to made mud blocks. Then they added some grass to hold the mud together better. Then they carved them into the size of cement blocks and put them out in the sun to dry and hauled to building sites by donkey carts. I don’t know how these blocks stood up in the rainy season if they were just left without being used in a building. But sure that the addition of the straw helped to reinforce the mud similar to steel rods do in cement. But it was all interesting to witness as Mud homes seem to be in fashion all over Mali which maybe originated in D’Jenni. So I witnessed a trend setting fashion. It got me thinking I wonder if the trend would catch on in areas where the vegetation along hillsides are lost due to forest fires like in Southern California or in Nepal where they chop down trees without much thought to erosion! Hey since I don’t know Nepalese but can maybe converse withone speaking Austriaglish well I should make a suggestion to Arnold about rebuilding burned homes with mud houses. Heck it would be like turning a tragedy into a bit of a success story. Cus hell there is a of mud after after the forest fires and mud slides in Southern California. So they rebuild lost mansions with Mud homes thus saving the state and Insurance companies tons of money! Sorry got carried away again as the idiotic mind can come up with some pretty scatter brain ideas!
Well I saw all I wanted see in 3 hours and got back and found Bruno and Adrian just getting up. We had planned to keep in touch by email to tell each other where we were staying in Mopti so we could get together to plan transportation or ideas to get to Timbuckoo and Dogan Country. So I thought hey maybe I could pay them some gas money and ride with them to Mopti and then wouldn’t have to try and connect thru email in the next couple days. They are easy going travelers and had no problem with that so I hooked a ride to Mopti about a 2 hrs drive away.
D’Jenni , a village on an Island where all the buildings are made of Mud & the Mosque is a World Heritage Site
On my way to Timbucktoo my bus passed D’Jenni a small village renowned for being built on an island with thetmud taken from the river banks. So hell I hopped off the bus at the D’Jen ani Carrefour or junction and caught a local bus heading to D’Jenni to check it out. Heck it was only about 30 mins and after all my long distance ride hell I could do that standing on my head.
We had to cross the Niger River by ferry which was an antiquated barge that carried 2 vehicles at a time the 200 meters. Of course as in customary as soon as we get off the bus we get attacked by all the hawkers selling their wares. I’ve got to the point now where I just ignore them or pretend I don’t understand what they’re saying which of course I don’t!
Since the village is built on an island in the river it’s very dusty but shit where isn’t in Mali?? But I’ve got a bandana to cover my nose and mouth cus my allergies, throat, nose and at times my asthma have bothered me a lot.
I found an Auberge / French I think for cheap hotel cus everyone I’ve stayed had cheap rooms ir dorms / dortier in French! This one had a nice restaurant set in a courtyard with probably nice rooms set around them. But the one I got for the price I paid was located across the dirt parking lot in the dorm building. It was Ok cus they had a couple ceiling fans and a shower / douche (yes a shower is douche in French so all u Douchebags are shower bags, ha ha) .
The village itself was quite small with the usual market place with ppl selling all kinds of shit. But I did manage to pick up some food from a street stall. So I returned to the hotel to eat my goodies. On the way I met a couple of guys camping there as they were driving thier camper van from Switzerland to South Africa. Bruno and Adrian had quit their jobs, sold their stuff and were headed out for as long as their money lasted or van took them. We hung out that evening and ended up having a couple of beers until they stopped serving which in Mali is usually around 11 pm (the starting time for most countries but what the heck at least they served cold beer). We also met a couple of Americans who were working/volunteering for the Peace Corp in Ghana for the past couple years. So they told us about just returning from Timbucktoo and Dogan Country (an interesting trip to a tribe of people called Dogans living in a number of villages east of where we were). The 2 Swiss guys and I were heading that way so of course as travelers we always respond to travel information from people who just did what we planned to do. Bruno and Adrian were planning to head out to Mopti (the sort of gateway or central town which is the starting point to arrange transportation to Timbucktoo, Dogan Country and of course D’Jenni) the next day as they wanted to get a pierce for one of their shock or whatever (heck I’m no mechanic so it’s all Swiss to me but Bruno is) so we said our goodbyes.
The next morning I was up early as I usually do to avoid the heat and cus its usua lly quite noisy in these villages. So I walked around checking out the village and taking some pictures. I checked out their central Mosque which was still being rebuilt as the original one was built a long time ago. It had been desinginated as a Heritage site by whoever gives out these citations. They were offering tours of the mosque for a fee of about $20. But I’m not big on tours so I gave it a miss! I was told I believe that most of the Muslims in Mali are followers of Aga Khan sect like the Muslims in East Africa who originally came from India and were called Ismalis. But most were booted out of Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania in the 1970’s when Idi Amin was in power in Uganda. These Indian people weren’t popular cus they were success business people and controlled most shops and commercial establishments. It seemed like they were treated like the Jewish people were during an earlier period. So of most Indians of East Africa took their wealth in gold and ended up in England and eventually Canada. So now these Indians are wealthy business people in these countries and their children all successful university graduates. I wouldn’t say they are discriminated in Canada but they do mainly hang out with their own people at their mosques. So of course most Canadians don’t know them much except as Aga Khan Muslims who are successful and easy to get with in a job. Sorry got carried away with a little bit of the East African people that I’ve met and learned about.
Ok so in D’jenni , in most cases they use mud blocks (similar to cement blocks that we use in North America) to fashion the houses. However it appeared in a lot cases that actual blocks weren’t only used but just a bunch of mud. But it may have started as mud blocks but over time with repair, etc the appearance turned out to be just mud houses. One of the people told me that after a severe rainy season some maintenance has to be done to the mud homes. Heck I could see if it rained a lot than the mud may start to come apart in places. But in most cases only some minor repairs have to be done. It’s kind of cool how they used products that is in abundance to build their homes. But shit the Eskimos build igloos out of snow since its in abundance. So why not use mud to build homes cus I’ve told the mud homes are cool in the hot season and warmer in cool weather (but wonder if they have any cool weather). But to me it may be cooler but it probably is a damp type cool not a hey that’s Cool type cool, ha ha! Anyway it’s smart that they use material that is all over the place. Now if they could just figure out what they could build with all the dust, heat, flies, mosquitos, donkey and goat shit than they’d all be multimillionaires!!!
I went to the outskirts of the village to see how they manage to build the mud blocks their houses, etc. So it seemed that by the river they dug a big hole in the mud or just removed the mud and it resulted in a big hole (not being an construction engineer I couldn’t quite figure which caused what to happen). Regardless it kind of reminded me of my misspent childhood when we made mud pies, etc. They took a bunch of mud and mixed in some water until it got to the right consistency to made mud blocks. Then they added some grass to hold the mud together better. Then they carved them into the size of cement blocks and put them out in the sun to dry and hauled to building sites by donkey carts. I don’t know how these blocks stood up in the rainy season if they were just left without being used in a building. But sure that the addition of the straw helped to reinforce the mud similar to steel rods do in cement. But it was all interesting to witness as Mud homes seem to be in fashion all over Mali which maybe originated in D’Jenni. So I witnessed a trend setting fashion. It got me thinking I wonder if the trend would catch on in areas where the vegetation along hillsides are lost due to forest fires like in Southern California or in Nepal where they chop down trees without much thought to erosion! Hey since I don’t know Nepalese but can maybe converse withone speaking Austriaglish well I should make a suggestion to Arnold about rebuilding burned homes with mud houses. Heck it would be like turning a tragedy into a bit of a success story. Cus hell there is a of mud after after the forest fires and mud slides in Southern California. So they rebuild lost mansions with Mud homes thus saving the state and Insurance companies tons of money! Sorry got carried away again as the idiotic mind can come up with some pretty scatter brain ideas!
Well I saw all I wanted to see in 3 hours and got back and found Bruno and Adrian were just getting up. We had planned to keep in touch by email to tell each other where we were staying in Mopti so we could get together to plan transportation or ideas to get to Timbucktoo and Dogan Country. So I thought hey maybe I could pay them some gas money and ride with them to Mopti and then wouldn’t have to try and connect thru email in the next couple days. They are easy going travelers and had no problem with that so I hooked a ride to Mopti about a 2 hrs drive away.
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