Cities like Timbuktu, Gao and Kano became international centers of Islamic learning. Muslim rulers like Mansa Musa of Mali, Songhay's Askia Muhammed, and Bornu's Idris Alooma, became known throughout North Africa and the Near East for their piety, and the wealth and intellectual activity of their kingdoms. Muslim traveler Ibn Battuta visited Mansa Musa in the mid-14th century and remarked on all of the above. The larger northwestern region of the country, which extends into the Sahara, is almost entirely arid desert or semidesert. Economic activity is largely confined to the riverine area irrigated by the Niger.
Industrial activity is concentrated on processing farm commodities.
Mali is heavily dependent on foreign aid and vulnerable to fluctuations in world prices for cotton, its main export. In 1997, the government continued its successful implementation of an IMF-recommended structural adjustment program that is helping the economy grow, diversify, and attract foreign investment. Inc. All Rights Reserved Worldwide. S. Harlem Ave.