Burkina Faso: In Shift
Sahel, July 2025
Leaving Mali, the 5 of us continue to Burkina Faso. We fly with Air Burkina, on an aircraft rented by Ghadames Air.
Flying with unknown airline companies is strangely exciting Of the four countries we will check out on this journey through the Sahel, this is the one I have been looking forward to the most, not least due to the fact that of Burkina Faso’s young, strong brand-new leader, who is bringing hope, not only to his country
, but all over West Africa. * In Burkina Faso, we go to the imaginative capital Ouagadougou, passionately called Ouaga by the Burkinabé, and the UNESCO-listed Royal Court of Tiébélé, where art and identity are literally engraved into the walls. However initially …
Along the road in Burkina Faso Sankara and
Traoré: Transformation and Resilience The suitables of Thomas Sankara still resonate in Burkina Faso, and the present leader Ibrahim Traoré is developing brand-new history in real time. The nation’s modern history and political landscape is to a big degree formed by these two specifying figures.
Thomas Sankara: The Che Guevara of Africa
Thomas Sankara was the revolutionary leader of the 1980s. He became president through a popular coup in 1983, and rapidly got a lot of attention global for his anti-imperialist, Pan-Africanist vision, and making sweeping changes right off the bat. He started by altering the country’s name from Upper Volta to Burkina Faso, Land of Upright People, and introducing extensive reforms in education, healthcare, females’s rights, and self-reliance. It is not hard to see how he became referred to as Africa’s extremely own Che Guevara.
A real socialist
Sankara practiced what he preached. He
- reduced the wages of well-paid public servants, and made them pay the equivalent of a month’s income to public jobs
- made it prohibited for federal government authorities to fly first-class and have drivers
- sold off the federal government’s Mercedes fleet and replaced them with cheap Renault 5s
- banned air condition in federal government workplaces, including his own, since that high-end was just offered to a couple of
- reduced his own income to the equivalent of 450 USD/month, less than half the then typical for African leaders
- converted the army’s supply shop to Burkina Faso’s very first super-market, available to everyone
- didn’t want his picture on every wall, since ‘There are seven million Thomas Sankaras’
- was opposed to foreign help, and famously stated ‘He who feeds you, manages you.’
- prohibited forced marital relationships, polygamy and female genital mutilation
- selected females to high positions in the federal government and the military
- promoted birth control, and urged women to stay in school, even if pregnant
- initiated a national literacy project and a vaccination program for meningitis, yellow fever and measles
And– fun fact– he was a knowledgeable guitar player, and wrote Burkina Faso’s national anthem himself.
You will not be surprised to learn this was not popular among the facility. Thomas was assassinated in October 1987, (20 years and 6 days after Che), however his perfects stay powerful still. You can see him on murals, and hear him in the voices of young Burkinabé who see him as a sign of what the nation could still become.
In 2023, on the anniversary of his assassination, Boulevard Charles de Gaulle, one of Ouagadougou’s main roads, was relabelled Boulevard Capitaine Thomas Isidore Noël Sankara.
Location Thomas Sankara in Ouagadougou– memorial honouring the revolutionary leader While revolutionaries as people can be
killed, you can not kill ideas. Thomas Sankara Ibrahim Traoré: A new
generation of leadership Quick forward to September 2022, when a young military officer, Captain Ibrahim Traoré, leads a coup, mentioning the federal government’s failure to handle the rise in jihadist violence. At 37, he is presently the world’s youngest president, guiding the country through an unstable transition. Traoré is a disciple of Sankara’s ideology of national sovereignty, anti-corruption, and African unity.
Like so many West African nations, Burkina Faso has no time at all for their previous colonisers. From the very start, the relationship with France was strained. On 5 September 1896, French forces got in Ouagadougou and burned the city to the ground. Not exactly a great start. We can understand the animosity.
Under Traoré’s guideline, the nation has actually distanced itself from Western alliances, particularly France, and in February 2023, French armed forces officially withdrew from Burkina Faso. On the other hand, Traoré has been seeking regional collaborations, in addition to closer military ties with Russia. Sounds like a double-edged sword, that.
However the baton of righteousness has been passed, and I’m curious to see if Burkina Faso will really reach its objective of complete self-governance and self-reliance. In either case, Ibrahim Traoré is an intriguing character. Let’s hope his security information depends on their job.
Ouagadougou
Despite the political uncertainty, Ouaga stays a city of imagination and resilience. Burkina’s crafty capital is often called the cultural heartbeat of West Africa, and is a location where traditional music and dance are not just home entertainment, but an important expression of identity.
As capital cities go, is
there a cooler name? I
do not think so! Monument des Martyrs
The appealing Monument of National Heroes in the Ouaga
2000 area. La mosquée de Kanazoé 64%of Burkinabé are Muslims, mainly Sunni. Ca. 23% come from various Christian denominations and 9% follow standard beliefs.
The new Kanazoe Mosque, also in the Ouaga 2000 district Town Artisanal de Ouagadougou We drop in the crafts village, much too quickly.
Inside, I am drawn to the metal works, specifically to these sculptures of colourfully dressed ladies, so I purchase a one. In a red dress. She will be ideal on a bookshelf at home.
Seated, second from the right She makes it through Ouagadougou’s airport security, my little lady. However a few days later on, in Niamey, she is deemed a risk, a possible weapon, and is seized, along with a pair of tweezers and a non reusable razor. Bit on the zealous side, Niger’s security.
I’m sad to have to offer her up. That’s the disadvantage of taking a trip with carry-on only.
Marche Betails Sougr-Nooma, the animal market
Vitali has been wanting to purchase a goat and welcome all of us to a banquet. It’s not happening here in Burkina Faso.
Appears like you’ll live to see another day, kid Cour Royale de Tiébélé: where tradition is painted in clay Burkina Faso is dealing with security challenges, specifically in border locations up north. Best to stay away from that. Rather, we are heading south-east to Tiébélé, an expedition that takes most of a day. It is a great 3.5-hour drive from Ouaga.
Far from the politics of the capital, is the town of Tiébélé, popular for its Royal Court, a collection of hand-decorated clay houses painted with symbolic geometric patterns, utilizing natural colouring.
A window into Burkina Faso’s living heritage
A little detour into politics
We’re now just 15 km from the location where southern Burkina Faso fulfills northern Ghana. Back in Sankara’s day, relations between the 2 ended up being friendly and close. They cooperated in a variety of locations: joint military exercises, complimentary exchange of items and services, roadway, air and telecommunication links across the border. There was even talk of uniting Burkina Faso and Ghana. After all, the border was set by colonial powers, an artificial line, drawn with little or no regard to ethnic ties.
Back to Tiébélé
The Kasena individuals, among earliest ethnic groups in Burkina Faso, have lived here since the 1500s.
This is still very much a living, breathing community, where the Kasena king and his relative live inside the substance. The adobe style houses are built with a mix of earth, wood, straw
, and cow dung, and arranged according to status. Houses for the senior, widows, single ladies and children have a figure-8 layout. Homes for single guys are circular, and those for young, married couples are quadrangular. Every house is an artwork, and every wall narrates. Only ladies are allowed to embellish your homes. Visitors are welcomed as guests– so long as they approach with regard. In addition to the homes, there are mausolea, memorials and shrines, holy groves and stone courts. Outside the compound, curious kids posture …
…
and this lady offers us lukewarm homebrew.
Next time in Ouaga … As our journey to Tiébélé takes the majority of a day, we regretfully don’t have time to see enough of Ouaga.
In this journey through the Sahel, Ouagadougou is the one location I particularly would have liked to have more time. In calmer days, I’ll return and check out the Musée National du Burkina Faso, and the National Museum of Music, for the material, and also for the cool Sudanese-Sahelian style of architecture, domes n’all.
And I ‘d like to amble about in Parc Urbain Bangr-Weoogo, a 2.6 km2 city green space. In the old days, this was a sacred forest, however the French didn’t care and turned it into a park, plain and basic. Though it appears to me the present name– metropolitan park of the forest of understanding– kinda covers both. You can see crocs, snakes, and various types of birds here, too.
Favourite eats
We have dinner at Belle Etoile Ouagadougou, taking pleasure in the cosy garden environment.
Update September 2025 * Because July, modifications have actually been made in Burkina Faso. Bad modifications. On 1 September, the military transitional legislative assembly passed a brand-new law, criminalising consensual same‑sex relations, imposing 2– 5 years jail terms and fines for individuals convicted of homosexual acts, and “behaviour likely to promote homosexual practices.” Apparently, as in many African countries, it is seen as contrary to African household values. Significant setback for humanity with that one, Traoré!
This journey through the Sahel covers Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and Chad.
Royal Court of Tiébélé is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Here are more UNESCO World Heritage websites we have actually checked out around the globe.
Unesco World Heritage Website– Dholavira Our journey began from Narayan Sarovar, on the western edge of India, driving towards Dholavira through the fascinating Kadhiya Dhroh canyon. By late evening, we reached the well-known 31 km roadway, often called the”roadway to heaven,”which links Khadir Bet Island to the mainland. Dholavira is uniquely located on an island surrounded by the beautiful white stretch of the Rann of Kutch. 
Increasing above the ground with tank in front To a visitor, the very first striking feature is the imposing castle rising above ground level. Standing before the east entrance at daybreak, it advised me of the Borobudur Temple in Indonesia, a website I had likewise gone to early in the early morning. The citadel has major four gates aligned with the cardinal directions. The northern gate once included a massive wood door and a large signboard with 10 letters– possibly the earliest known signboard worldwide. Although the script stays undeciphered, some scholars think interpretations are possible. 
Dholavira North Gate Sign Board recreated at a resort We entered through this north gate; the signboard is now maintained in a museum. Eviction passageway is flanked by chambers likely occupied by guards. A staircase, presently a momentary wood structure for visitors’ security, causes the leading where the complete website shows up against the sky. 
Bhoonga design circular real estate The east gate most likely led directly to the castle, with limestone pillars quarried 2-3 km away still noticeable. Throughout Indus websites, spaces tend to be especially small, leading me to question whether they acted as residences or storage spaces for trading items. Adjacent to the west gate lies a bead factory, which might have worked as an administrative or industrial office. The western castle location, called Bailey or Upa-Prasad in Hindi, was most likely home to the non-royal elite. Close-by stand four square granaries. 
On top of the Website– A pillar, A Stepwell and a Well As you go into, a massive water tank with staircases coming down 30 steps at 3 corners stands out. The tank includes rock-cut wells and stone actions, possibly the earliest models of stepwells like Rani Ki Vav. Nearby, a unicorn figurine suggests the tank’s ritualistic value to the people. Atop the site are two large stepwells and a round well, the latter measuring 4 meters in size– possibly the biggest well discovered in Indus Valley sites. Rope marks on a stone slab indicate usage of a pulley system to draw water. 
Connected water tanks at Dholavira Many fascinating are the southern water management tanks– a sequence of five interconnected reservoirs for storing and filtering water. The first 2 tanks handle desilting, the main third tank is three times bigger than the Great Bath at Mohenjo-daro, and the 4th tank features a ramp for wheeled carriage gain access to reminiscent of Surajkund. The fifth tank channels water to western tanks. 
Dancing Woman, Pottery and the Eastern Gate of Dholavira