Timbucktu - Mali

Africa-Mali-Timbuktu As you can see there are many ways to spell the name of this famous city. This card is unique in all the cards that I have in my collection and the reason is??? I have not been here ! It is the only card I have of a place that I have not been. So why is it here. Well on my recent trip to Mali , my guide Abdouleye is from Timbucktu. He was a excellent guide . He was fascinated by my passion with postcards and visiting Post offices. As he would say " Ive never met someone like you Mr David " . Not the first time I have heard that. I had wanted to go the Timbucktu but due to security issues and no commercial flights it was not possible. So I seen this card and the Guide offered to mail it for me. But I know that when the situation is ok on the ground I will indeed visit.  

Here is the postmark Timbouctou dated 10 November 2017. The writing is mine , but I did not put the stamps on the card. I rarely put stamps on top of stamps unless I have no space. In Mali this is quite common as the Post offices often only have low value stamps for sale. 

Bamako - Mali

Africa-Mali-Bamako My last card from Bamako . Here you see a typical scene from the city. 

Sent from the main Post Office in Bamako , the office with the Philatelic section. 

Postcards of Mali

Africa-Mali-Bamako I just love this card. I could not resist it will all the old postcards on the front. Reminds me of years ago when everyone who travelled sent postcards. Hardly anyone does.. I do as you all know.. 

The first Post office I went to in Bamako. They have very few stamps of choice. I asked for the Philatelic Office and was sent to another Post Office. In this office I was brought into a room and told the Head of the Office I wanted to buy a selection of stamps. She understood what I was asking. So she opened the great safe and there was a lot of different stamps. You can see some of these on my cards. However when I was paying she asked for more as "Philatelic Stamps" had a 25% surcharge. This was after I had stuck them on my mail.. So as you can imagine a big fuss happened. In the end they did not charge the extra. But I did give the Lady in charge a small tip, as I was afraid my mail would go into the bin.. It did not as you can see and these are the results. 

Dogon Area of Mali

Africa-Mali-Bamako These houses styles are some we seen on our trip in Mali. They are in Dogon area of Mali. Loved walking in the villages with the locals. 

I posted this card in Bamako , reason being is that were I purchased the card after I left the Dogon area. Postmark is hard to read. 

Djenne - Mali

Africa-Mali-Djenne  Really enjoyed this place.. I always say it is real Africa.. It is all about the people and enjoying the real life. No tourists about when I was here. 

A limited supply of stamps , but at least the cards made there way home. Two months. The Postmark says "Postes Mali - Djenne.

Mopti - Mali

Africa-Mali-Mopti A very enjoyable town to visit. A river port where you see all the ferries and the towns they visit. The River is only active from August to December when the water is sufficient . 

This card is showing a selection of stamps that were available in the Post Office in Mopti. Hard to read anything on the Postmark. 

The Great Mosque of Djenne - Mali

Africa-Mali-Djenne What a wonderful place to visit. The Mud Mosque was everything that I had expected. A wonderful place to visit. A World Heritage Site .

The Post office had limited stamps in Djenne. I think the same post office has been there for years. The Postmaster was very helpful and let me go through his books of stamps so I could try and get a few different stamps. Most of the stamps the value is too low. So the 450f stamp is required down the bottom. The bottom postmark is " Postes Mali - Djenne.