Becoming a world heritage site can be part blessing, part curse. That’s what the city dwellers of Djenne in Mali are finding out.

Designated by Unesco in 1988 for its architecture, particularly for its now famous 13th-century clay-brick Great Mosque, along with houses made from the same material, it has attracted tourism that has been of economic importance to the city.

But now the citizens want to modernise their homes and are being prevented by the UN’s cultural agency. Reports say that families want to extend homes, and refurbish the interiors using materials other than clay.

But the fear is that this will weaken the structures considerably. The people are unimpressed and are starting to question whether it is worth having world heritage site status while their living conditions cannot be improved.

The national museum in Mali’s capital, Bamako, is responsible for the restoration of Djenne’s buildings. The director, Samuel Sidibe, has suggested that efforts be made to see whether there is a way to improve the quality of the clay found at the River Niger that has deteriorated over time because of subsiding waters, so that clay can continue to be used on the houses.

Djenne dates back to 250 BC. By 500 AD it had a population of 20,000 people. (It would take London another 700 years to achieve this.) At the time of original construction of the mosque in 1204, the Ghanaian empire was ruling the region.
 
The empire had flourished through trade in salt, copper, gold, cotton, metal goods and leather. It is thought that the mosque was modelled on Ghanaian castles of the time. The Djenne mosque does not feature the domes like the Arab mosques nor does it have Arabic patterns on the walls.

That glorious past is still appreciated in Mali and beyond. It remains the largest clay-brick building on earth. The situation is a difficult one. It is important to preserve the mosque and some houses, but it does seem unjust to have people endure unfavourable conditions in the present day for a bygone era.