Day 1.

Ground side at Terminal One at Dubai International Airport at 1am, ready to begin the journey to the West African country of Mali.


Queueing up to check in for my flight on Ethiopian Airlines.


In the Marhaba lounge for an early morning bite to eat.


After the four hour flight to Addis Ababa I would then transfer for the seven hour flight on to Modibo Keita International Airport in Bamako.


After last visiting back in 2016 I had always wanted to head back to West Africa. After spotting the opportunity to travel with the Dubai Trekkup Meetup group for a one week trip to Mali for a very reasonable $980 I decided it was good time to go.

About to head to the gate.


The security situation in Mali has been fraught since the start of the Northern Mali conflict in 2012. Despite the intervention of France and a coalition of neighbouring African countries, much of Mali remains off limits due to the presence of various Islamist groups including al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and the Islamic State.



Although our itinerary was relatively safe, the plan was to also venture into the red 'advise against all travel' area as advised by the UK Foreign Office, including the town and UNESCO World Heritage site of Djenné and the central plateau region, home of the Dogon people.

As well as the possibility of Islamist terrorist attacks such as the 2015 Radisson Blu hotel attack in the capital Bamako where 20 hostages were killed, there was also the danger of ethnic violence in the Mopti Region of the country.

A few weeks before we were due to depart there was a massacre in the Dogon village of Sobane Da when Fulani militia killed 35 people and only ~40 kilometers from the Dogon village of Begnimato where we planned to visit.

A couple of people pulled out of the trip shortly after this but luckily seven of us remained and were still committed to going.

The ET A350 for our early morning flight to Addis Ababa.