Gao

Town and capital of Gao region in northern Mali, on the left bank of the Niger River about 320 km/199 mi east of Timbuktu, at the southern edge of the Sahara desert; population (1998) 54,900. Founded in the 7th century, Gao is one of the oldest commercial centres in western Africa, and was the capital of the Songhai Empire in the 11th century. Present-day trade includes the wheat, rice, and sorghum grown in irrigated areas along the Niger, livestock and livestock products, such as butter, hides, and wool, from the nomadic Tuareg of the Sahara, and phosphate, mined in the Tilemsi district north of the town.

As well as being a river port, the town has an airport and road links with Algeria, across the Sahara, and the Malian towns of Timbuktu and Mopti. The mosque of Kankan Moussa contains the tomb of Askia Muhammad, a Songhai ruler of the 16th century. The French established a military post here in 1900.