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Fondation Zinsou is a contemporary gallery specialising in African arts and culture exhibitions. When I visited we saw an exhibition about the Malian photographer Malick Sidibe which showed examples of his work, his cameras and had descriptions of his life and methods of working.
The gallery has excellent facilities – it is very modern and there is a cafe on the ground floor, and an educational room on the first floor. The bookshop has the best collection of books on African art and culture I have ever seen in one place ! Unfortunately they are all in French.
Check the website for future exhibitions and opening times, as information was a little sparse.
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Porto Novo is only 30 km and 45 minutes drive to the East of Cotonou, close to the border with Nigeria and is actually the capital of Benin, but has been overtaken in size and population by Cotonou.
Porto Novo is well worth visiting for a day trip from Cotonou.
The Kings of Porto Novo can be traced back from 1688 up until King Toffa signed the Kingdom over to the French in 1883 for protection against the Kings of Dahomey who would have sold the people as slaves. The palace is now a museum and the last king lived there until the 1970's. The palace complex has a lovely courtyard with a collection of scrap metal sculptures. Inside the history and lifestyle of the Kings is documented.
The Ethnographic Museum is located in an old colonial building and explains the importance of birth, life and death on society and there is a floor devoted to the importance of the Yoruba masks and their messages.
When you have had enough history, a visit to the Songhai centre will bring you bang up to date. This is a centre for sustainable agriculture and it is well worth spending at least a couple of hours here. Many types of fruit and vegetables are grown here, animals are raised and there is a fish farm, water filtration plant and fruit juice production. You can see how each section creates the bio-fuels to allow the other sections to function and how everything is used with no waste. Look out for the NERICA rice (New Rice for Africa) which grows here - adapted to grow in harsh African conditions and developd by a Beninese company. After the tour you can sample the organic produce in the restaurant.
See my Porto Novo pages for more details
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Since there are basically no cars serving as taxis the common "moyen de deplacement" meaning vehicle of transport is called "semijan". This is a motocycle with a driver dressed in a yellow shirt who will take you on the back of the cycle anywhere in Cotonou even in the remotest small little road for 150 CFA up to 1000 to 3000 FCFA depending on the distance. The "only"problem with that are the high pollution in the streets as well as a big danger of having an accident. It was said that everyday there is at least one big accident where a "semijan" is involved... Leave a Comment
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Visit the traces of the ancient kingdom of Dahomey in Abomey! Leave a Comment Address: AbomeyDirections: 150 Km North of Cotonou
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From Cotonou it is only a 45 minutes to the embarkation point for Ganvie. It is a village entirely built on the water with over 20.000 inhabitants. The boat fee is fixed and non negociable. It is a nice outing just for 1/2 a day. Address: Abomey Calavie, from Cotonou after Total turn righDirections: From Cotonou to Abomey Calavie.
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Right behind Cotonou there is the Laguna "Lac Nokue" which is mainly sweet water but because of the connection with the sea salty water also enters the laguna (the connection was man made around 1900). Inside this lake you will find a veritable town built on pillars - the people who live there are called the Tofinu and the population of Ganvie is about 20000 person, probably a lot more. Leave a Comment
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