    |
|
  |
Mali, West Africa • January 3 - 19, 2011 TEXTILES AND TIMBUKTU : San Francisco Craft and Folk Art Museum Members' Tour • January 22 - February 7, 2011 HIGHLIGHTS OF MALI
Planned to take advantage of cool weather, these unforgettable adventures begin in the Malian capital city of Bamako and continues on into the fascinating, rural, northeastern areas to see all the highlights of this amazing country. Mali contains three UNESCO World Heritage sites that we will visit! We spend the first days in Bamako visiting the National Museum and Barou's friend, the jovial marionette maker, plus we see the overwhelming and bustling markets of Bamako. We continue to Barou's hometown of Ségou where we will have the treat of a typical dinner and a special dance and kora performance of great Malian music by musician friends, especially for our group. At a renowned bogolanfini or mudcloth studio, we'll use the iron-rich mud dye to paint our own creations suitable for table runners or scarves. We will also observe professional mudcloth artists decorating traditional and modern bogolan fini, and visit a strip weaver who does amazingly intricate and interesting work. We take a relaxing pinasse riverboat tour on the Niger River to visit the Bozo pottery makers on the other side; they will show us their open-air kiln and how they build their pottery. CLICK HERE FOR INFORMATION ON MUDCLOTH OF MALI From Segou, we drive northeast and take a ferry across a shallow section of the Niger to arrive in Djenne, home of the world's largest mud building, the Great Mosque. Djenne, the oldest known city in sub-Saharan Africa, was founded by merchants around 800 AD, near the mysterious and ancient archeological site of Jenne-Jeno, which itself dates from around 250 BC. In 1988, the old town of Djenne and its enormous mosque were named a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Next morning is the colorful and chaotic Monday Market in Djenne; you'll have free time to wander around and check out the interesting things for sale. Later that afternoon, we drive to Mopti, visit the market at water's edge, and watch traditional blacksmiths using age-old methods. After a restful night and perhaps a swim at our Mopti hotel [at right], we fly to fabulous Timbuktu (another UNESCO Heritage site), on the edge of the Sahara Desert. We see the library of ancient Islamic texts, the mosques, a little museum, and we learn about several historic explorers. Around sunset, we drive into the desert to visit with Tuareg peoples and perhaps ride a friendly camel over the dunes! Back in Mopti, we drive t Then we head back to Segou and finally Bamako, to see or do anything we missed before. The main difference between the two trips is the Music Festival; some people want to see it, and some people prefer to spend more time with the cloth dyers and in Dogon Country. Otherwise all activities are the same. No matter which itinerary you choose, the adventure is guaranteed to be the kind of trip where you "meet the people" and see the "real Mali!" PRICE: $4695 for TEXTILES & TIMBUKTU DEPARTURE, January 3- 19, 2011. This is the Museum of Crafts and Folk Art, San Francisco, tour; price includes $250 tax-deductible MOCFA donation. PRICE: $4650 for HIGHLIGHTS OF MALI TOUR, January 22 - February 7, 2011. This trip includes tickets/entrance to the Music Festival sur le Niger River, in Segou. Includes all meals and drinks with meals, all accommodations, transportation by private van and driver, round-trip Timbuktu flights, Music festival tickets on second tour, bottled water on road trips, entrance to all museums and sites on the itinerary. Not included: Personal expenses such as visa for Mali, overweight luggage fees, laundry charges, guide tips, email/internet service charges, cotton cloth for dye workshop, between-meal snacks, packing art purchases for transport home or mailing, etc. << Return to Previous Adventures
 |
