Mali
is a landlocked Republic, sharing borders with Mauritania, Algeria, Burkina Faso,
Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea, Niger and Senegal. French Is the official language, but
Bambara is spoken by 80% of the population. Numerous other African languages
are also spoken. Outside the bigger towns few people speak French, and hardly
anyone speaks English
It is a vast land of flat plains fed by two
major rivers, the Senegal on its western edge and the great River Niger. On its
journey north the Niger converges with the River Bani, and forms a rich inland
delta, the marshlands of the Macina, stretching for some 450km (280 miles)
along the river's length, in some places 200km (124 miles) wide. The central
part of the country is arid grazing land, called the Sahel.
Bamako, is the capital of
Mali. It is located on the Niger River, in the southwestern part of the
country.
Bamako is the nation's administrative center, as well as a river port
and a major regional trade center. Manufactures include textiles, processed
meat, and metal goods. There is commercial fishing on the Niger River. The area
of the city has been continuously inhabited since the Palaeolithic, but the
legendary founding of Bamako occurred in the seventeenth century by Seribadian
Niaré and Soumba Coulibaly, or Bamba Sanago, before its chiefdom passed to
Diaoussadian Niaré.