GAO

The capital of the Songhoï empire

Gao was the ancient capital of the Songhay Empire; the town became prosperous, because it was on the Trans-Saharian Route, (the route of the azalaï = the salt caravanes) and with them all kinds of merchants from different countries came along.

Gao is an important archaeological center, where many objects have been found and are still being found.

There are some buildings, dating from the Songhay period, like:

• the Tomb of Askia:  Askia Mohamed was the 1^st emperor in the 15^th century; he went for the pilgrimage to Mecca and returned (as the legend goes) with mud and wood, which he used to build his own pyramid house, which became his tomb when he died. From the top of the pyramid you have a nice view over Gao.  The tomb is a Unesco World Heritage.
• the Mosque of Kankou Moussa; a king during the 14^th century; he also has been in Mecca; he was wealthy and he helped a lot of people on the way; when he returned, he build the first mosque in Gao.

And there are other interesting things to see:

• Arts and craft center (Maison des artisans): besides buying the silver jewellery of the Tuaregs you can actually see these artisans at work here and they will gladly talk to you about their craft. The artisans have specialties: leather goods and the unique Tamashek pillows; then the jewellery, the swords and the Malian shoes (for an easier walk in the desert) .
• the Museum of Sahel: it will give you very good information on the culture, history and people of Gao – the Songhay and the Tuareg (“blue men”). There are objects from the archaeological sites  and even replicas of traditional tents and tools of the Empire.
• the Meridian Marker: the 0° longitude runs through Gao; that means you can be in 2 hemisperes in 2 seconds.
• the Pink Dune ( la Dune Rose): at Koïma, about 5 kms. outside Gao.  it rises over the Niger and if you visit at sunset, you will have a view over the desert, that is breathtakingly beautiful.
• Hippos: you can go to Tasharan to see the hippos in their natural habitat, in the water or asleep on the shores. if you are very lucky you may even see a manatee or a crocodile..
• Ansongo: is a town with agriculture ( livestock and grains), but also a mining; they are prospecting for uranium. There are also hippos at Ansongo.
• the Menaka reserve : between Ansongo, Menaka, Anderanboukan and Labbezanga; that is the best animal reserve of Mali. You can see giraffes, antilopes, hyenas, jackals, storks, flamingos, wild boars – some of them will come to drink at the river.
• the elephants  of Gourma.: (there are only about 322 ) and they migrate between  Burkina and Mali, at the towns Gossi and Hombori. If you have time – you can try to find these very large elephants in the region.  But do so with the help of a local, qualified guide; you can hire them in Gossi, Douentza or Hombori.