* * * * *
Mopti as a town had grown. Once a small river port city of about five
thousand population, it had been a river and caravan crossroads somewhat
similar to Timbuktu, and noted in particular for its spice market and
its Great Mosque, probably the largest building of worship ever made of
mud. Plastered newly at least twice a year with fresh adobe, at a
distance of only a few hundred feet the Great Mosque, in the middle of
the day and in the glare of the Sudanese sun, looks as though made of
gold. From the air it is more attractive than the grandest Gothic
cathedrals of Europe.