Welcome to Porto-Novo, the capital of Benin. Its name is Portuguese for new port, and the city lies on an inlet of the Gulf of Guinea in the south-east of the country. Porto-Novo was first developed by the Portuguese as a port for the transatlantic slave trade. In 1863 it accepted French protection, and by 1900 it had become the capital of French Dahomey. A curious detail: although Porto-Novo is the official capital, where the national legislature sits, most of the government works from the larger city of Cotonou. Let's begin at the old royal palace.
Royal Palace
We begin at the Royal Palace, also called King Toffa's Palace and now the Musée Honmé. Once a royal residence, it is today a museum, and most of its displays tell the story of King Toffa's time. The palace and the district around it were placed on UNESCO's World Heritage Tentative List in 1996.
Great Mosque of Porto-Novo
Photo: Babylas · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia CommonsBefore you stands the Great Mosque of Porto-Novo, begun in 1912 and completed in 1925, during the era of French Dahomey. Look closely, because it may surprise you: built in an Afro-Brazilian style, the mosque resembles a chapel, with a long central hall and a shallow vaulted roof. The front façade is decorated with stucco mouldings of flowers, plants and scrolls. The city has declared it a historical monument.
Alexandre Sènou Adandé Ethnographic Museum
Photo: Kulttuurinavigaattori · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia CommonsNext is the Alexandre Sènou Adandé Ethnographic Museum, established in 1957 by the Dahomey Institute. It bears the name of Alexandre Sènou Adandé, a noted ethnologist who worked as chief archivist and librarian at the Institut Fondamental d'Afrique Noire in Dakar from 1948 to 1960. The museum carries on his work of recording the traditions of this region.
Ganvie
Photo: jbdodane · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia CommonsWe end on the water at Ganvie, a lake village on Lake Nokoué near Cotonou. With around 20,000 people, it is probably the largest lake village in Africa, and it is often called the Venice of Africa. Ganvie was founded in the 16th or 17th century by the Tofinu people, who took to the lake to escape Fon warriors capturing people to sell to European enslavers. The only way to come and go is by wooden boat, and fishing and fish farming are now the main livelihoods.
Lomakuume
