Tomb of Askia

The Tomb of Askia is the most important sight in Gao and one of the great monuments of West Africa. This 15-metre adobe pyramid, built around 1495, is the burial place of Askia Muhammad I, the greatest ruler of the Songhai Empire. In 2004 it was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site — the only such site in Mali outside of Timbuktu and Djenné.

The pyramid is a masterpiece of Sudano-Sahelian architecture — built entirely from mud brick and reinforced with wooden beams that project outward from the walls in a distinctive hedgehog pattern. These projecting timbers serve a structural purpose (they act as scaffolding for annual replastering) and have become the defining visual motif of the style. The tomb is surrounded by a mosque, a marketplace, and the old cemetery of the Songhai kings. A small museum at the site provides context on the Songhai Empire's history.

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A story
Askia Muhammad I — the man buried here — came to power in 1493 by defeating Sunni Ali's son in battle, then turned the Songhai Empire into the largest state in West African history. He made Gao a centre of Islamic scholarship, undertook pilgrimage to Mecca, and governed for nearly 40 years before his own son deposed him. He died blind and in exile in 1538, was brought back to Gao, and was buried in the pyramid he had built decades earlier.