Mopti, a photo from Mopti, South

Photographer's Note

This is the grand mosque in the city of Mopti in central Mali. It is one of the most famous mosques in the country, built in the early decades of the last century. In 2009 it was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List in the Cultural category.

It is a re-post of a photo I first uploaded here more than 12 years ago. I would have given it a more catchy title today, but when making a re-post the correct way the photo keeps the old title. On the old beta site there would have been a RP added to the title.

You can see the original version by clicking in the box to the right. I made a new scan from the Kodachrome slide because I disliked the original colours and the ugly pond of dirty, stagnant water in the foreground. I prefer these colours and the tighter crop, even though I lost some reflections.

Mopti was the first stop on my way from Bamako to northern Mali on my journey in February 1982. It is a relatively large and very lively city at the confluence of the Bani and Niger rivers, full of commercial activities. I would have liked to provide links to some of my several earlier photos from Mopti, but since it is no longer possible to make them clickable, it seems a waste of time.

papagolf21, Fis2, pajaran, alvaraalto, Royaldevon, pierrefonds, fotka, jhm, ikeharel, jean113, jean113, adramad, tyro, PaulVDV, ChrisJ, PiotrF, mcmtanyel has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

Silvio1953 (220665) 2020-06-09 0:40

Ciao Gert, great view of fantastic building, fine details, wonderful colors, splendid light and excellent clarity, very well done, my friend, ciao Silvio

papagolf21 (152605) 2020-06-09 0:43

Bonjour, cher Gert,
Je suis allé sur internet pour en savoir davantage sur la nature de la construction de cette grande mosquée (Mosquée de Mopti).
Merci de nous faire découvrir ces édifices religieux et l'historique s'y rattachant.
Amitiés.
Philippe

Fis2 (169791) 2020-06-09 0:44

Witaj Gert!
Curious place, view makes impression.
This mosque is impressive.
Interesting architecture.
Good framing and colors.
I like it.
Well done.
Good morning.
Krzysztof

pajaran (114971) 2020-06-09 0:45

Pozdrav.
Lep pogled, interesantan i dobar tekst ...
Lepo mesto i arhitektura. Lepa Dzamija.
Lepo pokazano, dobro uhvacen tenutak.
Zelim vam lep i uspesan dan, sve najbolje.
Paja.

ifege (47013) 2020-06-09 0:52

Hi Gert
I agree - the colour in the old version did need fixing and the cropping of the foreground has also made a big difference. The result is a good photo of this famous amazing mosque in Mali that very few on TE have visited.
cheers

alvaraalto (42804) 2020-06-09 1:48

Hello Gert,
Fascinating to see how this mosque has a very different appearance than the traditional Arab architecture. Beautiful fusion of cultures.
How much better has the scanning technique become? Here good natural colors, much more realistic than the "original version".
I also like the tighter crop. A good photo often benefits from the art of omission. Too much information usually doesn't make a picture any better.
Excellent presentation
Have a nice day, groet Rob

Royaldevon (85638) 2020-06-09 3:12

Hello Gert,

Crikey, the difference between the two versions is incredible! The original looks like a scan, this version has very natural colours.
10 out of 10 for the improvement!

It really is a very imposing, characterful mosque. If uninformed, I would have suspected that this was a protective building, like a fort.

For such a charismatic building, there are very few other photographs of this mosque.

You have instinctively given this photograph a better composition as well as better colours. The scene flows naturally from the men in the f/g, up the slope, to focus on this very distinctive mosque.

Have a good day,
Bev :-)

pierrefonds (113634) 2020-06-09 4:51

Hi Gert,

The presence of the persons is animating the scene. The point of view is showing the details of the Grand Mosque. The architecture is impressive. Have a nice day.

Pierre

fotka (8907) 2020-06-09 4:53

Hello Gert,
You show us lately many historical photos from your trip to Africa many years ago. Wonderful local architecture of this famous mosque. I like this kind of style although I have never seen it live but the architecture in New Mexico is a bit similar to this style.
As a scanned photo quality is perfect.
Best regards,
Zbigniew

jhm (211734) 2020-06-09 6:04

Hello Gert,

I am very surprised that you old picture are so lovely.
Nice detailed image, with old building in background.
An excellent picture, sharpness and clarity are pleasing to look at.
Very well done, TFS.

Best regards,
John.

rychem (72187) 2020-06-09 7:47

This mosque looks like the skyline of Manhattan :)
Beautiful building, a very good archive photo, very well captured and composed
regards Ryszard

jean113 (27639) 2020-06-09 9:02

Hello Gert, before viewing your earlier post of the grand mosque, I had never seen a building in this style before, so I am grateful for the introduction!
It is a very interesting picture; there is lots going on.
What are the piles of drying(?) vegetation in the foreground?
An excellent quality scan.
Thanks for sharing, kind regards, Jean.

jmdias (114318) 2020-06-09 10:36

gert

yes, the new post looks more natural while the other was something golden. curious those mounts of something in the edge of the river. lovely the architecture, it has a modernist mood, I presume it is the same original tradition of the mud castles of morocco.
PS: curious, my map on TE is broken, I sent many messages about this and nobody (except you an mariusz, that aren't moderators )alerted me the stuff is broken.
]take care

jorge

adramad (72564) 2020-06-09 10:37

Hi Gert.
A splendid view of this incredible mosque, I think there is nowhere in the world a construction with this style, it seems like something futuristic, when it has a remarkable antiquity, what image quality for a 1982 material, my congratulations for it.
Very nice color, which together with good sharpness and optimal lighting, gives great quality to the image.
Well done. I like very much
You have a good day.
Very best regards
Luis

Miguel82 (47110) 2020-06-09 11:49

Gert, the modification has increased the picture quality and adds more harmonious colors. Garbage are scattered on the pond shores and i see the inhabitants collect the mud. They make piles. The grand mosque of Mopti appears majestically in the bg. It has an attractive architecture, the building is made of mud, straw and wood. Fine colors, good sharpness, interesting photo note, regards.

tyro (30513) 2020-06-09 12:30

Hello Gert,

I agree that this is a better and more pleasing scan than your earlier one and I suspect that the colours are more in keeping with what you actually saw at the time you took this photograph. However, in your earlier scan, the water in the foreground (which you have now largely cropped) is nice with its reflections and doesn't give the impression of being dirty - though it may have done in the newer scan.

Anyway, this is a fine shot of this rather impressive and large mosque and there is a fair scattering of humanity around to animate it nicely too. It's also remarkably clear and sharp.

Excellent!

Kind Regards,

John.

P.S. One thing I noticed with this mosque was that, just like the one in Bobo, there seems to be lots of those spiky things sticking out of the walls. So I just couldn't resist doing a spot of research - and it turns out that these "struts" serve not only for decoration but also as supports during building and maintenance of these adobe walls - you can see a photo of a mosque only about 100 km from here (at Djenné) as well as a note here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adobe#/media/File:Djenne_great_mud_mosque.jpg

lousat (138655) 2020-06-09 13:14

Hi Gert,beautiful postcard from your archive showing the Mopti mosque,truly an unique architechture,so old but that reminds the modern churches. In fact this version is better,great colors and a cut on the stagnant water too for the best composition. Have a nice evening and thanks,Luciano

Tue (91612) 2020-06-09 13:39

Hej Gert,
Denne nye version ser meget godt ud, især fordi farverne ser langt mere naturligt ud. Jeg kan godt lide de brune toner mellem de grønne træer på begge sider af moskéen, hvis arkitektur er kendetegnende for Vestafrika. Meget god belysning også.
Lars

GyurMaster (24672) 2020-06-09 13:52

Dear Gert,

The main upload looks certainly better than the first version. Its an excellent postcard and to be honest its not how I imagine a mosque.

I like it anyway!
Best Wishes,
Gy

jemaflor (146330) 2020-06-09 23:58

Hi Gert,
Great traditional architecture, well photographed, good sharpness and light, an very interesting photo of your archives.

emka (157280) 2020-06-10 4:24

Hello Gert,
I looked at the previous picture of this mosque and at many other photos, you have shown before. I like this one the most because it is something I haven't seen and I would love to see - I mean the mud mosque similar to famous Djenne. Fantastic construction. as I have read in Google, it is not so old and there were restoration works there completed in June 2006. I see the men in blue - Tuaregs?
I still have many photos from Senegal that are nice i.m.h.o., but probably I will not look for them.

have a nice day
Malgo
I have read today that after 34 years of investigations they know who was the murderer of Palme.

ikeharel (112475) 2020-06-10 6:15

Looks as a well fortified mosquae, thought it was a local castle, Gert.
Picture presenrted in fine manner, good scan and colorful.
A sight from a remote country, not many TE members even plan or did travel there.
Good afternoon,
Ike

PaulVDV (62804) 2020-06-10 12:55

Hello Gert,
Truly a great monument! Looking at the mosque on this picture, I realize why it is more famous than the one in Bobo (although that mosque was also very pretty).
The buildings on the right seem to me to have been built a lot later. But all constructions have a uniform colour, which makes the whole very beautiful.
In the foreground you've included many people so it certainly doesn't look like a museum city.
How was your hotel in Mopti?
Best regards, Paul

ChrisJ (171280) 2020-06-11 23:46

Ciao Gert,

It would be worth a visit to this town to see this adobe mud brick mosque alone. Good sharpness & I like the wide angled panoramic format. Looks a bit like Timbuktu. Tfs!

BennyV (34746) 2020-06-12 3:44

Hej Gert

Another superb picture from Mopti, another one that brings memories here. We went looking (and found) someone to take us from Mopti to Djénné in a pirogue, back then.

Colours are much better in the cropped version. You cropped out the man at the river at the bottom, who probably played a major role in why you framed it as it was originally, so I like both versions, cropwise.

Benny

kasianowak (17672) 2020-06-15 5:21

...and one of the mosques in the world I would really like to see! Unfortunately (???), I don't think any place in Mali is going to become a tourist trap any time soon... ;-(
I like the colour of the sky and the cloths of the people (which really matches the sky, love that effect) compared to the original and the building looks more natural.
Can I just say - I would quite like if you still included links, even just a URL that can be copied and pasted into another window in the browser... I used loved those references to your previous posts.

PiotrF (54246) 2020-06-16 16:02

Hello Gert,
An interesting picture from Mopti with beautiful architecture. I like fine details,good composition and nice colours.
Fine presentation
Regards
Piotr

mcmtanyel (67709) 2021-10-28 20:35

Hello Gert,
It is amazing how much improvement the new scan made. The new scan's colors are beautiful.
Regards,
MT