Markets to visit Mali

With Sudanese architectural style, the pink market was, before it burned in 1993, the main tourist attraction in Bamako. Traders relocated to the market ruins and it is now being rebuilt in its original style. It is still the economic lung of the capital. This is where we come from business, as the Malian traders like to remind us. It is very pleasant to stroll along the stalls of this vast souk. Above all, we need to go for fabrics. Designers can make basin boubous, shirts and trousers for a small amount.

The craft industry in all regions of Mali is represented in this vast market. Each part corresponds to a body of trades (weavers, leather leather, jewellers, wood sculptors, Tuareg blacksmiths…). Craftsmen work in front of you. The first prize given by the seller is still too high: divide it by three or four! Tuareg crafts are cheaper in Bamako than in Timbuktu. This is not the case in the craft of Mopti and Dogon country. You can make custom shoes and have the correct copy of a jewellery or leather bag, if you have a model or photograph, at a competitive price. There is little regret: the somewhat invasive presence of young people who want to sell you necklaces, take you to a shop…

The market takes place every Monday in front of the mosque. It is very colourful and brings together all the merchants in the region. On Sunday evening and on Monday morning, multitudes of canoes, carts and trucks are tributary to Djenné. The stalls then filled millet, rice, dried fish, kola nuts, dairy products, salt bars, fabrics and loincloths. Part of the market is reserved for fulani shepherds selling their livestock. For the day of the fair, the peuhl women have beautiful gold jewelry, silver and amber. This is the best time to take them in photo, wearing loincloths and colourful boubous, touching and wearing gigantic earrings and rings in the nose. We really advise visitors to find themselves in Djenné that day, even though, in the high season, the number of tourists nights a little with the usual charm. In this context, it is advisable to arrive one day or two before, to be sure to find a room.

The market is held every Thursday. It is the place of meetings of the peoples of the region, and a good opportunity to find beautiful things.

It is the largest market in Summoned. Visitors can, without constraint, walk between the colourful and picturesque displays of this market where one discovers local crafts and agricultural productions, fulani dairy products, bozo dried fish, loincloths and Guinean fabrics and many mangoes, which are the gold of Siby.

He specializes in food and used automotive parts. It is better to avoid walking after 15 h: meat and fish are starting to feel, and flies give their hearts.

This market is more calm than the crossroads of craftsmen. Unfortunately it burned in 2009 and reconstruction is a little slow. Shops reappear one to one. Crafts are mainly reserved for professionals. While browsing well, the visitor should be able to find his happiness at much more interesting prices. Ask Baba Traoré's shop. Baba comes from a family of antique shops and turned into a pearl necklace. Ask him to take you to his gallery at the heart of the family concession (they are nearly cousins and cousins to live together!).

It is a modern, but desert market, because barely 10% of stores are open.

It is situated on a large sloping terrain between the grand stadium and the Hippodrome district. The visitor can take a walk in peace without unreasonable contact from both traders and other markets. It is also the cheapest market. Part of the market is devoted to coiffures: The women come to get plaiting and add mèches. This is a market for Malians: There may be fewer souvenirs (even though one finds one of the best fabrics at the best prices) but you can spend an excellent time, make pleasant encounters with a venelle. Inside the market, absolutely see the market for herbs. You can see a herbalist paid in traditional pharmacopoeia, or just admire the dispositions of dried plants. The open building is itself a real architectural success. Fabrizzio Carola, a renowned Italian architect, drew it. It also has the magnificent and confusing hotel Le Kambary de Bandiagara and part of the superb market of the artisans of Mopti.

The Sikasso market is rich in artisanal and agricultural products. It is even the best supplied fruit and vegetable market in the country. There are sweet peas, yams, bananas, pineapples, oranges, potatoes… This market, which is taking place on Sunday, even attracts traders from Bamako, Segou, Mopti and neighbouring countries.

Very colourful and animated, it attracts traders and customers from all over the region. Along the faded walls of centuries-old buildings stands this crossroads of all shops and meetings. As a good neighbour, the Senegal River brings fresh fish.

The market for pottery is located along the river in the city centre. If you don't have time to go to one of the potters villages, this market houses part of their production. You can buy fine plates, vases, canary pots, terracotta pots for a small amount.

The Marché market is held on Monday, but already the day before you can see the first traders arrive, Canary canoes crossing the river. This market is very colourful and attracts people from all over the region. It is one of the largest in the country.