Bamako

Bamako

Bamako, Mali's capital and largest city, lies along the Niger River in the south-west of the country, near the rapids separating the upper and middle Niger valleys. Bamako is renowned for its lively music scene, where different genres such as Malian blues, traditional music and afrobeat flourish. Several famous Malian musicians and bands have formed in the city. The city is host to a number of notable establishments, such as the University of Bamako, the National Museum of Mali, the Mali National Zoo and the Grand Mosque of Bamako. The Bamako name is derived from the word Bambara, meaning "crocodile river." Traces of settlements in the city area date back to the Paleolithic. The Niger River valley's fertile lands gave its people a plentiful food supply, and the region's early kingdoms prospered as they created trade routes connecting across West Africa and the Sahara to North Africa and Europe. The early residents were traders in gold, ivory, kola nuts and salt. The first kingdom to rule the area by the 11th century was the Empire of Ghana. The Empire of Mali flourished in the early Middle Ages, taking over from Ghana as the dominant kingdom of West Africa, ruling Senegal, Gambia, Guinea and Mauritania. By the 14th century, the Mali Empire was becoming richer and richer thanks to the trade in cotton, gold and salt. It became a center of trade and Islamic learning, but began to decline when Mali was overtaken by the Songhai. Today the places of worship are predominantly Muslim mosques, but there are also Christian churches and temples in the city.