Welcome to Bangui, the capital and largest city of the Central African Republic. It was founded as a French outpost in 1889 on the northern bank of the Ubangi River, and takes its name from it. The river's own name comes from a word for the rapids beside the settlement, which marked the end of navigable water north from Brazzaville. Bangui is the country's administrative and commercial centre, home to the National Assembly and the University of Bangui, and it produces textiles, beer, shoes and soap. Let's start our visit at its cathedral.
Cathédrale Notre-Dame
Photo: Freeman Sipila (VOA) · Public domain · Wikimedia CommonsIn central Bangui rises the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, built in 1937 and seat of the Archdiocese of Bangui. It is built of red brick, a common choice in the former French tropical colonies. The cathedral has seen remarkable ceremonies: in 1977 it hosted the coronation Mass of Jean-Bédel Bokassa, known as Bokassa the First, and in 2015 the first holy door of the Catholic Church's Jubilee of Mercy was opened here.
Boganda National Museum
This is the Boganda National Museum, named after Barthélemy Boganda, the country's first prime minister. Founded in 1964 and opened in 1966, it holds artefacts covering the culture and ethnography of the Central African Republic. During the civil war the building was ransacked and closed to the public. Yet here is the hopeful part: most of its 3,500 artefacts are still here, packed in large wooden crates inside the building to protect them from looting.
Church of Fatima
In the neighbourhood known as PK5, about 5 kilometres from the city centre, stands the Church of Fatima, a Roman Catholic church. It is remembered for tragedy. In May 2014 armed attackers threw grenades and opened fire at the church, killing at least 11 people, and in May 2018 it was attacked again, with 27 people killed and many more wounded. Let us pause here in remembrance of the victims.
Boali
Photo: Philippe JIMENEZ · FAL · Wikimedia CommonsOur final stop lies about 100 kilometres north-west of Bangui, in the town of Boali on the Mbali River. It is famous for the Falls of Boali, 250 metres wide and 50 metres high, a popular sight for visitors. Below the falls stand two hydroelectric power stations that supply electricity to the capital and 13 other towns. The first was completed in the 1950s and sparked new industry here, including the country's first textile mill, which began operating in 1954.
Lomakuume
