Mali: Travel Destination

Mali is a West African country of the Sahara Desert that was once home to the Songhai, Mali, and Ghana empires that controlled trans Sahara trade.  The famed city of Timbuktu is also located in this country and it was a great center of Islamic learning.  There are many different ethnic groups in Mali including the Mande, Fula, and the Tuareg.  Women and beauty are so diverse here and some women sport black lip tattoos and septum rings. Mali is famous for is music which is a sort of Desert Blues that started with griots.  This music is directly connected to American BluesTartit



 music that originally started with slaves brought from West Africa during the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade.    Etran Finatawa


Some musicians from Mali that I listen to are  Tartithttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ha9PFfp_8Fs,  Etran Finatawahttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NjX1ziHVX8, and Khaira Arby.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Diy2_Zd-WzA  Mali is Khaira Arby and her band


also home to the largest mud brick building in the world, The Great Mosque of Djenne, which was built in the 13th century.