The Great Mosque of Djenné, Mali, is a magnet for tourists, but it is increasingly difficult for locals to live a normal life around it.

Seth Dixon, Ph.D.‘s insight:

This New York Times short video is an intriguing glimpse into some of the cultural pressures behind having the designation of being an official world heritage site.  The grerat mosque combined with the traditional mud-brick feel to the whole city draws in tourists and is a source of communal pride, but many homeowners want to modernize and feel locked into traditional architecture by outside organizations that want them to preserve an ‘authentic’ cultural legacy.

Tags: Islam, tourism, place, religion, culture, historical, community, Mali, Africa.

See on www.nytimes.com