Bamako

Bamako or Bámako is the capital of Mali, located on the banks of the Niger River in the southwest of the country. A major administrative center, major river port, and a commercial center for the entire surrounding region, it has district status at the national level and is in turn divided into six communes headed by their respective elected mayors. The mayor of Bamako district is Adama Sangaré. It is a station on the Dakar-Niger railway.

Etymology

The name of the city comes from the Bambara language bàmakɔ̌, "backwater of the crocodile" since this animal was the local fetish to which, according to early XX century, a virgin was sacrificed to him annually.

History

Fort of Bamako, built in 1883 on the left bank of the Niger River.

The Bamako region has been inhabited since prehistoric times, as confirmed by archaeological excavations at Magnambougou. Bamako was founded at the end of the 16th century by the Niaré, formerly called the Niakate, a Soninke ethnic group. Niaréla, the neighborhood founded by the Niaré, is currently one of the oldest areas of the city.

At the end of the 19th century, Bamako was a major fortified city of 600 inhabitants, and a center of Muslim study in the time of the Mali empire, until February 1, 1883, when French troops commanded by General Gustave Borgnis-Desbordes took over the region.

Already under French rule, in 1895 the city became the capital of the region, to finally become the most important city in the Upper Senegal and Niger region, on October 17, 1899. Later it passed to be called the French Sudan in the year 1920. Between 1903 and 1907 the Koulouba Palace was built, which was the residence of the governor and later became the seat of the presidency of the Republic of Mali since independence in 1960.

Under French rule, important infrastructure improvement works were carried out in the region and in the city, so in 1904 the Dakar-Niger railway line was inaugurated, linking the cities of Dakar with several of the most important which currently belong to Mali. In 1905 the construction of the Hospital del punto G began.

Later in 1927 the cathedral was built. The craftsmen's guild was created in 1931, a few years later in 1947 the city's first bridge over the Niger River was completed and in 1948 the great mosque was built.

Bamako is an administratively complex city, since it is the only district in the country and, in turn, it is divided into several communes. This has been the case since December 20, 1918, when it was decided to organize the city in a mixed way with a governor who at his Once he was acting as mayor.

View of the current Bamako.

Between 1920 and 1921, Henri Terrasson de Fougères was appointed provisional governor of the region by the French government, a position he held until he finally became governor of French Sudan on February 26, 1924 until 1931, residing during his tenure at the Koulouba Palace.

On November 18, 1955, Bamako became a fully-fledged commune, the mayor, Modibo Keïta, was elected for the first time a year later, on November 16, 1956. On September 22, 1960, Mali proclaimed its independence as a French colony and Bamako was designated as the capital of the new Republic of Mali.

Geographic context

Collective transportation in Bamako.

Situated on the banks of the Niger River, the city of Bamako was built on a bend in the river, surrounded by hills. It extends over an area of 267 km². It has a population of 1,809,106 (2009) and a river port on the Niger River. It is the largest administrative and commercial center of Mali.

Bamako is the capital of the country's only district. It concentrates 70% of the national industrial production. The main productions are manufacturing, including textiles, meat, metals and fishing. In addition, the tertiary sector is highly developed, especially the crafts and commerce. In addition, this city is the headquarters of large national companies and the State Administration.

A railway line connects Bamako with Dakar, in neighboring Senegal, passing through Kati, Négala, Kita and Kayes. A good way to communicate around the city is the Niger River itself. In addition, there are paved roads that connect the capital of Mali with the main cities of the different regions of the country. The Trans-Sahelian Highway project would provide that, coming from Dakar, the road would pass through Bamako before heading towards Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria and Chad. By air, the Bamako-Sénou International Airport connects the city with multiple African destinations, as well as with Paris, where the companies Aigle Azur, Air France and Air Mali fly.

Climate

The climate is tropical and somewhat humid, the total annual rainfall is 878 mm with well marked dry and rainy seasons. The driest month does not receive a drop of water (average 0 mm in December), while the rainiest month is well irrigated (234 mm in August). The average annual temperature is 27.8 °C, with December being the coldest month with an average of 24.8 °C, and April being the hottest with 38.7 °C.

Average climate parameters of Bamako, Mali (1950–2000)
Month	Ene.	Feb.	Mar.	Open up.	May.	Jun.	Jul.	Ago.	Sep.	Oct.	Nov.	Dec.	Annual
Temp. max. abs. (°C)	38.9	42.8	43.9	43.5	45.0	42.0	40.0	37.8	38.4	38.9	42.0	40.0	45.0
Average temperature (°C)	33.4	36.4	38.5	39.6	38.5	35.3	32.1	31.1	32.2	34.6	35.3	33.4	35
Average temperature (°C)	25.1	27.8	30.2	31.6	31.4	29.1	26.8	26.1	26.6	27.7	26.5	24.8	27.8
Temp. medium (°C)	17.0	19.9	22.9	25.2	25.4	23.6	22.2	21.8	21.6	21.3	18.4	16.8	21.3
Temp. min. abs. (°C)	8.7	9.0	12.0	16.7	17.8	16.1	17.8	17.2	18.3	14.7	10.8	6.1	6.1
Rains (mm)	0.6	0.7	2.1	19.7	54.1	132.1	224.1	290.2	195.9	66.1	5.2	0.5	991.3
Rainy days (≥ 0.1 mm)	0.2	0.2	0.6	3.3	6.3	7.7	16.7	17.9	14.7	5.7	0.3	0.1	73.7
Hours of sun	275.9	254.3	266.6	231.0	241.8	234.0	217.0	217.0	222.0	254.2	270.0	269.7	2953.5
Relative humidity (%)	24	20	22	33	50	67	77	81	78	65	38	27	48.5
Source No. 1: World Meteorological Organization
Source No. 2: Hong Kong Observatory (1961-1990)

Demographics

The demographic growth of Bamako has been very pronounced in recent years, going from 2,500 inhabitants in 1884, 8,000 in 1908 to more than 160,000 in 1960, during the time of independence, reaching a population of more than 1,600,000 inhabitants today. Bamako is also the sixth city in the world with the largest population growth projection, forecast until the year 2020.

Administration

View of the city from the hills where the presidential palace is located.

The city of Bamako has the character of a district at the national level, in turn this district is divided into six communes as established by the ordinance of August 18, 1978, later modified by the law of February 1982. These six communes are subdivided into neighborhoods. Each commune is governed by a municipal council from among whose members a mayor is elected by the council itself. In addition, these councils select their representatives in the district council, which is made up of 27 members. Finally these representatives name the mayor of the district.

Adama Sangaré is the current mayor of the district of Bamako, being elected on July 6, 2007, replacing Moussa Badoulaye Traoré, who held it until June 6 of the same year. On Friday, June 19, 2009, the twenty-seven councilors of the Bamako district unanimously ratified Adama Sangaré in his position. The last communal elections took place on April 26, 2009.

• Commune I has a population of 256 216. It is north with the rural commune Djalakorodji (belonging to the Kati circle), west with the rural commune of Gabakourou III and south with the Niger River. The commune has an area of 34,26 km2. Nine neighborhoods are part of this commune: Banconi, Boulkassombougou, Djélibougou, Doumanzana, Fadjiguila, Sotuba, North Korofina, South Korofina and Sikoroni.

Artisans area in the center of Bamako.

Bamako Street.

• The Commune II borders the east with the Korofina area, west with the skirts of the G-point hill, north by district boundaries and south by the Niger River. It has an area of 16,81 km2 and has a population of 160,680 inhabitants. The commune is divided into eleven neighborhoods: Niaréla (the oldest, where the founding family of Bamako resides), Bagadadji, Medina-Coura, Bozola, Missira, Hippodrome, Quinzambougou, Bakaribougou, TSF, Industrial Zone and Bougouba. In this commune there are 80% of Malian industries.
• Commune III is defined by the following limits: to the north by the circle of Kati, to the east by the Bulevard del Pueblo that separates it from Commune II, to the south by the part of the Niger river that remains between the Pont des Martyrs and the Motel of Bamako, and to the west by Cheick Zayed El Mahyan Ben Sultan and ACI 2000. The commune has an area of 23 km2. Its population is 119,287. Commune III is the administrative and commercial centre of the city. In it are the two largest markets of the capital, the great market Dabanani and Didida. Twenty neighborhoods make up this commune and the towns of Koulouninko and Sirakorodounfing have been attached to the commune.
• Commune IV has an area of 36,768 hectares, with a population of over 200,000. Its limits set them: north and west the Kati circle and south by the left bank of the Niger River. It is divided into eight neighbourhoods: Taliko, Lassa, Sibiribougou, Djikoroni-Para, Sébénikoro, Hamdallaye, Lafiabougou et Kalabambougou.
• The Comuna V occupies an area of 41 km2. Its limits are defined by: to the north by the Niger River, to the south by the airport zone and by the municipality of Kalanban-Coro, to the east by Commune VI and the Niger River. It has a population of 249 727. It is made up of eight neighbourhoods: Badalabougou, Sema I, Quartier Mali, Torokorobougou, Baco-Djicoroni, Sabalibougou, Daoudabougou and Kalaban-Coura.
• Commune VI with an area of 8882 hectares is the largest in the Bamako district. Its population is about 600 000 people. It consists of ten neighbourhoods: Banankabougou, Djanékéla, Faladié, Magnambougou, Missabougou, Niamakoro, Sénou, Sogoniko, Sokorodji et Yrimadio.

Places of worship

As in the rest of Mali, the main denomination is Islam, with more than 90% Muslims. In Bamako there are many Koranic schools and hundreds of mosques. Balla Kallé, Imam of the Grand Mosque of Bamako, passed away on June 14, 2009.

In addition, there is a certain presence of traditional African religions, such as animism, and other minority confessions such as Christianity.

Culture

Museums and cultural centers

• French cultural centre.
• National Library of Mali, which also houses the African House of Photography.
• Women's Museum.
• National Museum of Mali.
• Palace of the culture Amadou Hampaté Ba.

Sports

Several stadiums have been built in Bamako, such as the Mamadou Konaté Stadium, the Modibo Keïta Sports Palace, the Ouenzzin Coulibaly Stadium or the March 26 Stadium. Most of these sports centers were modernized and expanded for the 2002 African Cup of Nations soccer that took place in Mali between January 19 and February 9, 2002.

Stade Malien, Djoliba AC and Center Salif Keita are the most prominent football clubs in the city.

Bamako has been the end or start point of several stages of the Dakar Rally, a great automobile race that crossed the Sahara desert from Europe to reach Dakar.

Each year, the Pan-African Athletics Meet is held in the city.

Twinned cities

The sister cities with Bamako are:

Notable people