Niono Great Mosque

The great mosque at Niono was built between 1948 and 1973 by a local mason working entirely in the Sudanese tradition, banco brick plastered in mud with projecting torons and tapering towers, and it won an Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 1983 on the grounds that it showed the tradition was living rather than historic. Niono itself sits in the Office du Niger, the vast irrigation scheme that turned this stretch of the delta into rice country.

What you actually see

• The banco construction - mud brick plastered and shaped in the Sudanese tradition.
• The projecting torons - the timber beams protruding from the walls.
• The Aga Khan award - the 1983 recognition of the building.
• The irrigation country - the Office du Niger rice zone around the town.

When to go

November to February is the comfortable season. Visits should avoid prayer times. Replastering happens after the rains.

Honest expectations

Non-Muslims are generally not admitted inside; the exterior is what can be seen. Mud buildings need annual replastering and the surface changes. Niono has almost no other visitor facilities.

Nearby

Ségou is south, and the Office du Niger canals run through.