N'Djamena
Chad · 3 sights · guided virtual tour, about 2 min
Welcome to N'Djamena, the capital and largest city of Chad. It sits on the Chari River in the southwest of the country, near Lake Chad, right where the Logone River flows in. Across the water lies Kousséri in Cameroon, so the two cities form one cross-border urban area. N'Djamena was founded by the French in 1910 as Fort-Lamy, and in 1975 it was renamed N'Djamena, reflecting its local Chadian heritage. Its position near the borders of Cameroon and Nigeria has long made it a crossroads for trade. Let us take a look around.
Sights
Chad National Museum
Photo: Matarimi1 · CC0 · Wikimedia CommonsWelcome to the Chad National Museum, which traces the history and culture of the country. Its most treasured object is a skull of Toumai man, regarded by Chadians as the world's earliest human ancestor. The museum was founded in 1962 under the name of Fort-Lamy, the colonial name of the capital. Sadly, many artefacts were lost and looted during the unrest of the Chadian–Libyan War, among them a notable collection of musical instruments. A palaeontology room opened in 1999, linked to remarkable fossil discoveries in the Djurab Desert.
N'Djamena Grand Mosque
Photo: Legeekdunord · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia CommonsBefore you stands the Grand Mosque of N'Djamena, established in 1978. It is more than a place of prayer: the complex also brings together libraries, lecture halls and schools, making it a centre of learning as well as worship in the heart of Chad's capital.
Our Lady of Peace Cathedral
Photo: Unknown author Unknown author · Public domain · Wikimedia CommonsHere is the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace, the Catholic cathedral of N'Djamena and seat of its archdiocese, close to Charles de Gaulle Avenue. It was first built and inaugurated in 1965, but on 21 April 1980 it was destroyed during the civil war, a time when the city suffered great destruction. The building you see now was rebuilt between 1983 and 1986, and it stands largely on the old structures, a quiet symbol of a city that rebuilt itself.
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