Dori

Le Marché the market is on the left, after the STMB Station. Marché day is Friday, but you can buy almost anything on any day of the week. There is a decent selection of fruits, vegetables, meat, and peanut butter. There are also assorted leaves, rocks and dirt. The blankets are the specialty of the marché in Dori. They are all handmade in a small village near Dori. Also available are turbans, boubous West African sleeved gowns, and pagnes loinclothes of all varieties.

Bathilly’s Boutique is the world-famous Peace Corps boutique in Dori. They provide things much close to our acquired tastes. They are very nice people, who have lots of supplies and own other locations in the Sahel. Theirs is the best selection in Dori -- frozen goods, butter, eggs, oatmeal, and tuna. Bathilly's is past the Marché, on the right. The other boutiques in the vicinity have the standard selection.

Dori has many tailors but not many who can make top quality outfits. There are many tailors, in the middle of the marché, who get curtains or clothes hemmed. However, for more detailed tailoring you should go to Ideal Couture. You pass Bathilly’s on your right, with the marché on your left. Keep going until it seems you get into a neighborhood, and Ideal Couture should be on your left, across from a hardware and construction supply store quincaillerie, in French. This taylor has made stuff for generations of Peace Corps volunteers.

Almost every Peace Corps volunteer owns a famous Dori blanket. Look for Amadou in the middle of the marché. Also, you can pick up a turban to complete your Tuareg look for the dusty season. No Tuareg look would be complete without the silver jewelry. For authentic Tuareg silver accessories, go straight from the round point towards the marché. Make the next right after passing the end of the marché. The little workshop basically, a hangar with guys working in it will be 50 meters up on your left.

There are some small sand dunes in the small village of Djamga, at 7 km from Dori. You can bike out there, or you can take camels. If you hire camels, the prices should be in the range of 10 to 15 mille francs 10,000-15,000 CFA for a half-day trip, and 15 to 20 mille francs for an overnight trip.