BENIN

Benin is a small West African country. It was once famous for its fabulous Empire.

Benin, or Dahomey as it was previously called, lies on the Gulf of Guinea. On the west it borders on Nigeria and on the east Togo, On the north is Niger and Burkina Faso.

As all the countries along the Gulf of Guinea in the south are wet and rainy so is Benin with swamps fringing the lagoons. A belt of rainforest is behind the swamps.

The high grassy plains in the north are drier and rise slowly towards the Atakora Mountains.

About 70 per cent of the people are farmers They grow crops to feed their families. They are subsistence farmers and there food consists of millets, maize, yams and cassava. Some families on the coast live by fishing. Their houses are built on stilts above the water.

Cotton, palm oil, cocoa and coffee are grown for export.

CAPITAL PORTO NOVO

The capital is Porto Novo with around 200,000 inhabitants. The old slave trade port of Cotonou is twice as big than Port Novo. Cotonou is located on the narrow strip of land on the edge of a lagoon. It was from here that thousands of slaves were shipped to the cotton plantations in the southern states of the USA.

COTONOU

Benin was previously called Dahomey  and a powerful empire existed in the area from 1625.

Dahomey empire sold slaves to Euroean traders, who shipped them to the Americas therefore the coastline was then known as the Slave Coast.

The empire was much bigger than today's country and the capital was at what is now a small town of Abomey in the interior. It is still known for its ancient dancing rituals.

France ruled Dahomey  from 1892 until independence in 1960. The name was changed in 1975 to Benin.

Political unrest has plagued the country and brought it down to poverty. It now relies on aid from

outside.

ATAKORA

TOGO

Togo is a small West-African country lying between Benin and Ghana. It is a long and narrow strip with a small coastline. Grassy plains and hills are the general landscape. The climate is hot and rainy. In the west it has a rainfalls of 90 cm a year.

The Togo hills rise in the centre of the country and are the border between Togo and  Ghana. On the eastern side Togo borders on Benin and in the north on Burkina Faso

TOGO TOURIST ATTRACTION

Agriculture
Most of the people are farmers although the land is fairly poor. The main crops are palm kernels and coconuts in the south. Coffee and cocoa are grown in the hills. Peanuts, millet and cotton in the north.
Togo produces a lot of phosphate rock which is used as fertilisers.

Religion
In the north are mostly Muslims who dress in flowing white robes. In the south Christianity is widely spread and they wear usually Western clothes.

A traditional drummer parades through the street of Lome. Most people in Togo follow animist religions based on local gods and spirits.

History
Germany ruled Togo before the World War I, When it was taken over by Britain and France. The British part named Togoland joined with Ghana in 1957.

The French part went its own way and became independent in 1960.

The Togo Republic has a population of 3,8 million and an area of 56,785 sq km. The capital is Lome.

TOGO'S CAPITAL LOME

Gnassingbe Eyadema has ruled Togo since 1967 but his power is declining since democracy is in demand. He was forced to hold an elections in 1993 and had to appoint an opposition prime minister in 1994.

IVORY COAST

The Ivory Coast was a colony of France. The country official name is Cote d'Ivoire. It is one of the most prosperous West Africa countries.

The landscape copies Ghana with rain forest in the south and high grassy plains in the north.

The hot, steamy south was covered with forest but it was cut down to make way for coffee and cocoa plantations.

Many wild animals live on the northern plateau such as lions, monkeys, antelopes and elephants. There is also grazing for cattle.

Two-thirds of the people living there are growing food like maize, rice and jams. Crops for export are grown and Ivory Coast is one of the world's largest coffee and cocoa producers.

Industry
Younger generation are working in factories in the old capital and chief port, Aidjan. Half of the population is under 20 years old. Flour mills food canneries, breweries, sawmills, textile and plastics manufacturers are all thriving.

Since 1980 there is a prosperity boost from an offshore oil extracted from the Gulf of Guinea.

History
From 1893 to 1960 the French ruled the country. It became independent under the presidency of Felix Houphouet-Boigny. He remained till his death in December 1993.

His policies were  - keep close ties with France; allowing plenty of foreign investment and keeping tribal rivalries under control.

ABIDJAN

 One of his major acts were to move the capital from Abidjan, known as the Paris of Africa, to his home village of Yamoussoukro.

YAMOUSSOUKRO CITY

The Ivory Coast republic has a population of 13 million and an area of 322,463 sq km. The religion is Muslim, Christian and Traditional.

 BASILICA OF OUR LADY OF PEACE

A Basilica of Our Lady of Peace was built in the capital and it is the  biggest church in the world. It is modelled on St Peter in Rome and completed in 1989.