Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso:
in front of the Grande Mosquée
We arrived in Bobo-Dioulasso with the train from Ouagadougou. Although we heard that it might be possible to see wild elephants from the railway line, we didn’t have that much luck! In any case, Bobo-Dioulasso compensated us for this disappointment! The second largest city of Burkina Faso (~550,000 inhabitants) offers plenty – the two most famous sights are the ancient Grand Mosquée and the old town of Kibidwe. The mosque was built in its current form in 1880 and is the best example of the Sudano-Sahelian architecture in Burkina Faso. It was constructed using mud bricks and decorated with tree sticks (also used for climbing during renovation works). It is possible to visit the inside of the mosque together with a guide – obviously this is highly recommended! The guide can also lead you through the crooked alleys of Kibidwe, a part of the old town of Bobo-Dioulasso easily reached by crossing the street in front of the mosque. After checking out these must-sees, you are free to roam the streets of Bobo and, for example, dive into the busy Grand Marche with its colourful market stalls or visit the small Musée Provincial du Houet.
Eventually, we left Bobo-Dioulasso and took the bus to Bamako, the capital of neighbouring Mali. You can read about our adventures there in the following post!
Matt Travels 
Looks fantastic!
thank you!! unfortunately, visiting Burkina Faso has become dangerous in the meantime…
Although there are quite a lot of Indians working in Nigeria, Liberia and Ghana, these are not really tourist friendly places. and of late the trouble is brewing in this entire region. how would you describe the people here?
Unfortunately, there are a few extremist groups creating trouble in parts of West Africa, but I have not visited Nigeria, Liberia, or Ghana and cannot say anything about these countries. In any case, the places I have seen are inhabited by very friendly people who are welcoming to tourists! Therefore, I will definitely go back there some day!
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