Benin’s years of isolation have left it an intriguing country, much more open and friendly than you might expect, with a steadily improving tourist infrastructure and some unique features. One of Africa’s most sophisticated indigenous states developed here at Abomey – the capital of the kingdom of Dan-Homey, in the heart of the southern savanna. From the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries Dan-Homey was one of Africa’s biggest slaving centres, and the trade only ended in 1885 when the last Portuguese slaver steamed out of Ouidah, bound for Brazil. . .
(continued on p. 231)
Links we like
French embassy in Cotonou General information on Benin in French, as well as travel advice.
Le Matinal News and features from the national daily paper.
Mami Wata Vodoun (voodoo) religious philosophy.
First-Time Africa: know before you go 