Benin is a French-speaking country in West Africa. It is a fascinating place and is the birthplace of the vodun or “voodoo” religion. It’s also home to the former Dahomey Kingdom dating from 1600 – 1900. Even though it is a small country it does have a few large cities and beckons to tourist to explore its impressive architecture, museums and markets. A trip here will bring you many adventures, a look at amazing wildlife and relaxing on great beaches.
Visit the city of Cotonou with lovely beaches full of golden sand and palm trees. It’s a large port city on the south coast of Benin. Some of its highlights include the huge Dantokpa Market at the eastern end of Boulevard St. Michel. There is the 19th century Cotonou Cathedral with an impressive
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This city is where you can learn a great deal about African history. It has museums that explore slavery and voodoo. There are many stunning beaches as well. Among the highlights are The Slave Route which is a track down which slaves were taken to the ships and is lined with monuments. It leads to the Door Of No Return, a memorial arch on the waterfront. There is the Ouidah Museum of History based on an 18th century Portuguese fort, chronicling the city’s slave-trading past.
Porto Novo is the capital city of Benin and the former French capital of Dahomey. Highlights here include the Royal Palace and gardens and the Museum of Porto Novo kings. It is known for its colonial buildings such as The Musee da Silva, recounting Benin’s history and celebrates Afro-Brazilian culture. The Honme Museum was King Toffa’s 19th century royal palace.
Abomey was once the capital of Ancient Dahomey. The main highlight here is that this is the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Abomey Royal Palaces. Even though most of the palaces are now in ruins there is still much to be seen. It is home to 12 palaces. The surviving palaces of Ghezo and Glele form the Historical Museum of Abomey, which features bas-reliefs on the palace walls and a throne mounted on human
In chapter 19 memories and experiences play a role in transitioning from one place to another. Chapter 19 starts off with Ishmael transitioning from Benin Home to live with his uncle Tommy and his family. This transition would seem effortless and simple to the naked eye because Beah is now connected with a part of his family. However for Ishmael it was more difficult than it would appear. On page 182 Ishmael describes his first night, “I sighed sitting alone on the verandah. I was no longer nervous, but I missed Benin Home.” (Ishmael Beah 182). 1. How do Ishmael’s memories and experiences hold him back from now being happy in his new home and life? Ishmael has a tough time with his new life because there is so much the others don’t know about
Benin Plaques They are plaques all over the world; between England, Europe, and America there are over 900 plaque disbursed throughout many museum. Most of the plaques were gathered during the British punitive expedition. Decoration for the king
Ghana is located in west africa and its capital is Accra. The country was actually called the Gold Coast because of the ambulance of gold they had and also the abundant resources that they have. The country also is known for its history and its diverse animal life. Ghana was affected by the colonization of european countries, especially Britain. Ghana did trade with them, mostly with slaves and gold, they still felt enslaved.
This essay deals with the nature of a cross cultural encounter between the Benin people and Portuguese traders in the 15th and 16th centuries, which resulted in the depiction of Portuguese figures in Benin brass plaques. It will propose that this contact between people with different cultures was on the basis of 'mutual regard' (Woods, K. 2008, p. 16), and although the Portuguese had qualms about idolatry in Benin it will show that assumptions by Europeans up to the 20th century of the primitive nature of tribal African societies was inaccurate with regard to the Benin people, who had a society based on the succession of the King or 'Oba', a Royal Family and Nobility. The essay will finally suggest that Benin’s increase in wealth following
The Ituri Forest located at the middle of the map of Africa, at the corner of the Belgian Congo. A place where outsiders feel eternal and depressing but to the people who are in the area, they described it as cool, restful, shady world with life
A dream of a tropical land to be opportune with facilities like beaches, swamps, beautified agricultural outlook, food, nice climate, natural resources, and a blend of cultural traditions, one may sleep beside Sierra Leone and Liberia in order to live in the reality of such a dream. Regardless of the fact that these two countries being West Africans, they share a few similarities, but are parted by some differences, which make each country unique.
An event that was considered to have far-reaching historical consequences, but it’s rooted in this history of the city. The trade at the city was from Lago’s geographical location. This allowed for the slave trade to start. Regional captives arrived at the city to be sold to slave traders. Fighting in the interior allowed for Lagos to become wealthy for it created a follow of captives to be sold as slaves and then Europeans started to settle in the city. Europeans knew that they can make wealth in the city and this lead to the British intervention in eighteen fifty-one. It was the prosperity of the slave trade which goes back to the other forms of legitimate trade. Each trade was connected to the city by geography. This reveals that Lagos has a complex history that builds upon itself and is centered on the city’s geographical location. Looking through Lagos’ history reveals that what came before connects to what comes next for the city. The history of Lagos was a series of interlocking events that created a complex history and the next historical event for the city was the British intervention in eighteen
Igbo land holds many festivities and cultural performances, most notably are the masquerades. This festival has a very special clothes, and calendar time. The Masquerades festival happens every year and it is usually every November. In their anniversary, they have social gathering and burial rites. During this festival are geared in colorful robes and different styles of masks that made either with wood or with fabric. Masquerades are very connected with spiritual elements that relate it to Igbo belief or dead relatives, which show the uniqueness of masquerade festival as one of the well-kept secret and preformed completely by men. As people would always take corrections from these exposures, the masquerades were effective in keeping up with
The relationship between the geography of West Africa and the development of the Kingdom of Ghana go hand in hand. It was a great place for civilization because it flourished over time. The Kingdom of Ghana’s development was helped because of trade and wealth.
While The Gambia is the smallest country in Africa and holds a tiny population of about 2 million, its enchanting collection of attractions contradicts with its tiny size. The country is almost surrounded by Senegal except for the 80km coastline. A small coastline filled with white sand beaches and blue seas. Although there is much more to Gambia this is one reason you should visit this exquisite country.
Gabon is a Francophone country in Africa. It gained its independence from France in 1960. Gabon is rising in the African world, like many other of its fellow countries. To explain how it is going to be classified, tangible and intangible factors are going to be used. Some are agriculture, demography and population, natural resources, will and support of the people, also government administrative competence. These factors help explain what type of country Gabon is and how it is ranked. Recently through according to the The Economist Gabon has had some setbacks with its recent election. Gabon is a rising nation, tempered by it’s political instability. It is classified by how its physical geography, their people and its government works, to be
The country has significant oil reserves, vast natural forests (about 22 million hectares) and many arable lands (10,000,000 hectares). It also has a highly developed river system, a climate conducive to agriculture, a globally recognized biodiversity for regulation of greenhouse gases, mineral resources and a strategic geographical position in Central Africa. Its maritime facade of 170 km on the Atlantic Ocean, with a deep-water port at Pointe-Noire whose sub-region could benefit the whole, completes this long list of
The Yoruba people can be found in Nigeria and parts of Togo and Benin. As a collective region, these places are referred to as Yorubaland. There are over 40 million Yoruba people today, making them one of the largest ethnic groups in Africa. About twenty percent of this large population still follows traditional Yoruba religion. Traditionally an agricultural-based society, the Yoruba are known for their staple crop of yams.
The first good aspect about Porto Seguro is the place. Since Porto Seguro is a tourist town, you can find everything from cheap, comfortable hostels to five stars hotels with a nice view of the beach and the illuminated buildings around, it only depends on how much you want to spend. The food has the same range in prices and although there are a lot of cheap fast food restaurants in the narrow streets, it is worth to spend a little more money and try typical Brazilian foods like the delicious tapioca, the crunchy acaraje, the hot moqueca, and, of course, the famous feijoada. The weather is another great thing about the city, the temperature hardly is below 80 Fahrenheit, and it
During my fellowship in Benin; I met with people from different countries in Africa. One day, I had an assignment with another fellow from Togo. We had little time to make a presentation and to capture people attention. The first challenge I faced was the language difference and how to express my ideas in a simple, comprehensive way. I feared being misunderstood or those we won’t achieve a good level of efficiency in a very short time. We had some difficulties to make a decision and agree on a method to follow. The other challenge was the different point of views of both of us; we did not perceive things in the same way. We approached the subject differently and this took us some time to get back to the track. To get through these differences,