Bamako - City of Mali

Bamako is the capital and largest city of Mali, and currently estimated to be the fastest growing city in Africa. It is located on the Niger River, near the rapids that divide the Upper and Middle Niger Valleys, in the southwestern part of the country. Bamako is the nation's administrative center, with a river port located in nearby Koulikoro, and a major regional trade and conference center. Bamako is the 7th largest West African urban center after Lagos, Abidjan, Kano, Ibadan, Dakar and Accra. 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 founding of Bamako occurred in the seventeenth century by Seribadian Niaré and Soumba Coulibaly, or Bamba Sanogo, before its chiefdom passed to Diaoussadian Niaré. The city was an important market town. In 1883 the region was occupied by French troops, and in 1908, Bamako became the capital of the French Sudan.

Bamako is situated on the Niger River floodplain, which hampers development along the riverfront and the Niger's tributaries. Bamako is relatively flat, except to the immediate north where there is an escarpment, being what remains of an extinct volcano. The Presidential Palace and main hospital are located here.

Bamako include the National Library of Mali, Tour BCEAO, Bamako Grand Mosque, Cathedral of Bamako and the King Fahd Bridge. It is home to Mali's largest international airport, Senou International Airport, as well as the Dakar-Niger Railway, to Koulikoro in eastern Mali and Dakar in Senegal. Attractions include the Mali National Museum, the Muso Kunda Museum, the Bamako Regional Museum, Bamako Zoo, the Bamako Botanical Gardens, the Palais de la Culture Amadou Hampaté Ba and the Point G hill, containing caves with rock paintings. Bamako has hosted the biannual photography festival African Photography Encounters since 1994.

In 1988, Bamako was the location of a WHO conference known as the Bamako Initiative that helped reshape health policy of Sub-Saharan Africa.

The yearly held Budapest-Bamako rally has the endpoint in Bamako, with the Dakar Rally often passing through Bamako.