Why Djenné-Djenno Is Famous

Djenné-Djenno (Mali) is renowned as one of sub-Saharan Africa's oldest urban centers, founded ~250 BC, peaking 1000–1250 AD. It was a major trade hub in the Inland Niger Delta and a center of Islamic scholarship with notable mosques and madrasas. Abandoned ~1400 AD, its ruins—including city walls—remain. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a critical archaeological site for understanding early African urbanism.