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Background: The Sudanese Republic and Senegal became independent of France in 1960 as the Mali Federation. When Senegal withdrew after only a few months, what formerly made up the Sudanese Republic was renamed Mali. Rule by dictatorship was brought to a close in 1991 with a transitional government and in 1992 when Mali's first democratic presidential election was held. After his reelection in 1997, President Alpha KONARE continued to push through political and economic reforms and to fight corruption. In keeping with Mali's two-term constitutional limit, he stepped down in 2002 and was succeeded by Amadou TOURE.

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By Carravanquelo
October 2nd 2008

The people we meet...

Africa » Mali » District of Bamako » Bamako

It’s hard to believe, but we’ve been in our house for nearly two weeks now. Now that we have a toilet seat (key!) we are in pretty good shape. Nora just started at Save the Children yesterday, so I’m adjusting to being on my own during the day. Unfortunately, some of the few friends that we made here are not too reliable about coming over to visit in spite of their persistent texting, so my plot to pester them with questions about wording my Bamana questionnaires has yet to bear fruit. Consequently, I’ve been dragging a chair outside of our gate [View Full Entry]

By pablostrip
August 4th 2008

eyes of africa

Africa » Mali » District of Bamako » Bamako

yaganyae
typical senegalese transport, they cand o anything from 20 to 500 km

Im stuck in bamako with a horrible etye infection asking myself why did I put my contacts on with such dirty fingers, I had it coming... btw that I consider rather funny that after a month drinking tap water, from deposits, and from wells that looked fairly dirty, after one month of walking with tshirts under the sun of africa, one month taking the crazy lariam, one month eating with my hands food touched by random peoples hands, one month eating street food covered with flies that looked fairly scary and buying fruits in in the market, one month underfed, one [View Full Entry]

By K K
January 16th 2008

The festival and homeward bound

Africa » Mali » District of Bamako » Bamako

KnK au festival

Hi Folks, What Kevin forgot to mention last night is that I am being treated for Malaria and not dying, really! Thanks for all the love and support. I generally feel a bit better in the morning, and I think maybe the drugs are working (fingers crossed) so I'm up now writing in a slightly dizzy going-back-to-bed-soon state. Kevin and others here at the Djembe Hotel are taking fabulous care of me. Despite fraility of body, the trip up to the desert and back was an incredible experience. The Tuereg people are so so beautiful, in dress, in music, in culture. [View Full Entry]

By K K
January 6th 2008

Leaving Bamako

Africa » Mali » District of Bamako » Bamako

We have had an amzing past couple of days. Thanks to Jeremy and Sega, we have had a fantastic journey to Sega's village 3 hours NW of Bamako. Yesterday morning we loaded up our gear into a minibus, drums, back backs etcs and went off for an adventure...which started with drumming the whole way there! As we passed villages and roadside communities, we drummed and danced and sang the whole way, invoking waves, smiles and dances! We bought muffins, peanuts, yogurt, and drinks from folks along the road, tried not to step on the chickens that we were bringing, nestled on [View Full Entry]

By K K
January 4th 2008

Last few days in Bamako

Africa » Mali » District of Bamako » Bamako

Kevin's new drum!

The last few days here have been busy busy fun. Jack and Sharon are here with us now, settling in to African life. Its great to see them and to share this experience with them! Yesterday we went to see the National Ballet practice, awesome dancers and drummers! They gave us our own little show, very cool. We came back to Jeremy's compound for lunch and a short rest. After a break, I had a really fun dance class. I'm starting to catch on to things a bit more quickly. Issa is an excellent teacher, very patient and playful. Jack and [View Full Entry]

By K K
January 2nd 2008

Bamako Beats

Africa » Mali » District of Bamako » Bamako

New Year's
Kara dancing the night away with Tewa

January 2nd--here in Bamako, playing drums everyday, learning a lot, classes in the morning and afternoon and into the night, hanging out with great teachers at the Djembe Hotel. Jeremy and Tewa have been great hosts helping us absorb the often overwhelming atmosphere of Africa. The internet has been down for a few days. We're mostly hanging out at their home; adventures outside require effort and planning. Today Kara's going to the market and I'm going to go watch a djembe ballet perform in town. We're looking forward to seeing Jack and Sharon arrive tonight. It's hard to plan everything for [View Full Entry]

By K K
December 27th 2007

Jammin' out in Bamako

Africa » Mali » District of Bamako » Bamako

Sega and Matche
Drumming masters young and old

Hi Everyone! So we've been here for a few days now, how many? It's easy to lose track of time in a way. We all keep forgetting what day it is. We're really happy staying here with Jeremy and Tewa and their family at the Djembe Hotel, we heartily recommend it! They are lovely lovely people, welcoming us into their home, bringing in excellent drum and dance teachers, taking us to interesting things, and cooking fantastic food! Its been a very rich and memorable time overall. I'll try to post some pictures here. We're trying to be very respectful with the [View Full Entry]

By K K
December 24th 2007

Made it to Bamako!

Africa » Mali » District of Bamako » Bamako

We've finally made it to Bamako and are settling in to a new space, languages, and yummy food. We had a really long trip here, but it was very cool. After a great send off by the Liskas and Colleen and friends, just two hours of sleep, we flew to Casablanca. We arrived in the morning knowing that we had around a 16 hour layover and that there are neat things to see in town, but not sure about how we were going to do that with our packs, or if it was realistic. We were pleasantly surprised, after some confusing [View Full Entry]

By Viajerong Pinoy
December 21st 2007

BAMAKO AND DJENNE

Africa » Mali » District of Bamako » Bamako

BAMAKO
SUNSET OVER NIGER RIVER

After crossing into the Malian side we drove for half an hour or so to a place where we have to go through customs. The people have been very nice so far waving at us as we pass through, I am loving it so far the people are so friendly and polite and have the most genuine smile, though at one checkpoint after the border the border guard was not impressed by the hordes of kids who ran to wave at us and chat while we are stopped and started shooing them away to no avail, finally he gave up and [View Full Entry]

By K K
December 15th 2007

Off to Africa, a new adventure!

Africa » Mali » District of Bamako » Bamako

Happy Holidays! We are in the final stages of planning for a new adventure, a new continent, a new year. Next Friday Dec 21 we leave our beloved and comfy home in Davis for time with the Liska-Rockwell's and a farewell party in San Fransisco, then early early in the wee hours on Saturday we depart for Africa. We'll land briefly, but not momentarily in Casablanca, hopefully spending the day on the town before departing again later that night for Bamako, Mali. We plan to spend most of our trip in Bamako, the country's capital at the Djembe Hotel [url=http://www.rootsyrecords.com/HtmlFiles [View Full Entry]

Travel Blog » Africa » Mali » District of Bamako » Bamako