Bourem

Bourem lies on the left bank of the Niger in the Gao country, where the river bends through the dry margin of the Sahel. Floodplain fields and the river's seasonal rise supported farmers, while herders grazed their animals on the drier land behind. Ferries and paths made the riverside a crossing between the desert routes and the Niger towns, and in the sixteenth century the Songhay state drew on such crossings to move goods and troops along the river.