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Traveling Benin the rough way

zem Idaatschland

Riding a zem through Idaashaland

 My handicaps were plenty – my very poor French, travelling on my own, hardly any other tourists to exchange information with and the absence of a public transport system in Benin.

Benin lacks pubic transport to an extent I didn’t think was possible, it just doesn’t exist, Not even taxis. When Beninoises speak of taxis they talk about run-down cars that pick up people as they go, but it is not a taxi you have to your own, unless you pay for all the seats. For longer trips the taxis often don’t leave unless they are filled to the rim, with a roof full of cargo.

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Benin through the lens of an EOS 70D

Leaves coated with red soil

Leaves coated with red soil

A nasty grey sky was the first thing I spotted when opening the curtains on my very first morning in Cotonou. Was it going to rain any minute? A quick check of the weather app said „low visibility due to dust“. Eventually it sank in, Harmattan season. This wind bis lowing from the Sahara across West Africa between December and March fills the air with thick dust. The horizon is greyish white, a photographer’s nightmare. A kind of blue skies would sometimes reappear late afternoon.

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Benin Photo Gallery

Benin Photos

New Years Party at Roch's family home, outdoor kitchen

Roch's family home, outdoor kitchen

Traveling to Benin has been on my mind for years, especially experiencing the voodoo festival. X-mas 2015 it finally happened. a total of 17 days I spent leisurely moving around Benin. From the capital Cotonou I did short trips to the stilt village of Ganvie, to Ouidah and Puerto Novo, mostly by motorbike taxis. Dassa was the most northern city I visited, from where I moved to Abomey, the former residence of the Dahoman Kings. The voodoo festival in Ouidah was the definite high-light of this trip.

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Royal Abomey

Abomey palace

Palace of Abomey

Abomey is the ancient capital of the powerful Kingdom of Dahomey that existed from the early 17th century till 1900. Tradition required for each king to have his own palace built, adjacent to that of his father. By the time the last king was ousted by the French, it was 12 palaces stretching over an area of 44ha surrounded by the wide moat. The buildings were all made of clay and if the site had not been granted UNESCO Heritage status, very little would be left. But UNESCO money two palaces - those of King Glele und Guezo -have been restored and turned into a really informative museum.

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Cotonou – a mess I came to love

 

zems in Cotonou

Traffic in Cotonou

Most tourists leave Cotonou, Benin largest city, straight away, it lacks attractions to speak off. Worth mentioning, a cozy Catholic Cathedral, where people come to prey, sleep, and rest. 

Visits to the Dantokpa Market, Benin biggest market with 40 hectares, and the giant second hand market left me irritated and exhausted. Too many people push through the narrow alleys, as the only white person I was stared at and constantly spoken to in unfamiliar languages.

Street Vendors

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Meeting the King of Dassa

king of Dass

King of Dassa

To be frank there are not many sights in Dassa, the Royal Palais is a run-down building and was closed at the time of my visit. If it was not for the fading letters on the wall saying Royal Palais, it would pass for another descript building in a dusty town.
The present king chooses to live in a simply house right next to it. He receives visitors, when they bring a bottle of gin and CFA 5000 in cash as a present.

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Heading North to Dassa

Dass main strett

Center of Dassa

It took quite a while for the bus to Dassa to fill since it was Saturday, besides nine people certainly are not enough for nine seats. Only when about 16 passengers filled the vehicle, lots of cargo was stowed away on the roof, including a moped, did we leave Cotonou. Since I got the privileged seat next to the driver, it was a sweet trip.

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Ganvie – the Venice of Benin

 

Ganive-village

Ganvie Village

Ganvie is home to a fishing community of about 30.000 people, who all live in wooden huts on stilts in the lagoon waters of Lake Nokoue. The village, far away from the mainland, was founded by the Tofino people back in 17th century, when Dahomean worriers raided their countryside for captives to sell to the European slave traders. The Tofino word for gan means we are save and the word vie means community.

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Benin Visa most wanted

Visa Benin

Visa Benin

Never has there been a visa more desired. The day before the X-mas holidays started and three days before my departure, it still had not arrived, although I had applied two weeks earlier. Hectic phone calls, email exchanges, mapping out a plan B (which quickly imploded) and the very sad thought of losing a plane ticket, turned the 23rd of December into a nightmarish day. At 4pm I could not take it any longer and called the responsible person in Benin on my mobile. Guess what,  he told me to tell the consulate to issue the visa. He will give his okay the next day. And they did.

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