Fort de Médine

Built in 1855 by French General Louis Faidherbe on the left bank of the Sénégal River, twelve kilometres upstream from Kayes, Fort de Médine was the first permanent French military installation in the interior of West Africa. Its purpose was to control access to the river beyond the falls at Félou and to establish a foothold for the push inland into what is now Mali.

The fort's mud-brick walls, guard towers, and officers' quarters still stand in reasonable condition given their age. The site commands views over the river from a rocky promontory. The surrounding village of Médine is quiet and traditional. Combined with a visit to the nearby Félou Falls, the fort makes for a rewarding half-day excursion from Kayes. Local transport runs between Kayes and Médine; the road is rough but passable in dry season.

things to do sight
A story
In April 1857, the fort was besieged by the Toucouleur army of El Hadj Omar Tall — an Islamic scholar and military commander who had declared holy war against French expansion. The small garrison of French soldiers and African allies held out for three months until the French relief column arrived under Captain Faidherbe. The siege is remembered as a turning point in the French conquest of the Sénégal River valley, and Omar Tall retreated eastward into the Niger basin, where he built a short-lived empire before dying in 1864.