The country called Benin was once the powerful Kingdom of Dahomey. It was nicknamed the Slave Coast due to significant trafficking through Dahomey of Africans to the Americas and to the slave markets of Brazil and the Caribbean. It was transformed into a French Colony in the late 1800's, finally gaining full independence from France in 1960. The current name, Republic of Benin, was adopted in 1975.

As a new democracy, the bright side is that Benin's economy is growing and tourism is on the increase.

 
With about 900,000 inhabitants, Cotonou is the largest city of the country. Vendors and thousands of motor taxis make the busy street quite a scene. A visit to the market is a unique experience. Nearly anything you could think of is sold here: fabric, fish, household goods, vegetables, meat and musical instruments. A large voodoo section offers dried animal parts, tree bark, spices, statues and amulets.

Cotonou represents urban Africa at the most frazzling and polluted. But, it offers its own charms to visitors in a lively night life and good shopping.

The city has no reliable public transportation and tourists should avoid driving out of the main towns at night.


Some 20,000 to 30,000 people live in stilt houses build on poles in Lake Nakouhe where life turns around fishing. The men fish and the women sell the fish on the market of Cotonou. They get there with their own little boat or a boat taxi.  Everyone uses boats as a means of transportation for everything--to go visit the neighbors, to go shopping in the small store or to the market. One blogger reported seeing three-year- olds paddling around alone. Even the market itself consists of several boats from which the merchandise is sold.

Built sometime in the 1700s, Ganvie, has a fascinating history. It was born out of the desperation of the Tofinu people, who had nowhere to run from the ruthless Dom-Homey slaver tribe. Knowing that their archenemies believed a water demon, living in the lake, was the only thing that could destroy them, the weaker tribe built their new homes on stilts on the lake where they could be safe. Centuries passed, and the animosity between the two tribes is over, but the people of Ganvie have no interest in returning to dry land.


Southern Benin was called the "Slave Coast". In the former Portuguese fortress is a museum dedicated to this gruesome period of history. There is also a trail leading to the ocean called La Route des Esclaves (The Route of the Slaves). It's about 2.5 miles long from the center of Ouidah and follows the path that slaves took to the boats that carried them to the Americas. A monument called "The Point of No Return" now marks the place. Did you always think that slavery was initiated by the "White Man"? Were you surprised to learn that Kingdoms like the Dan-Homey (Dahomey) used their powers to be in a constant state of war to supply a never-ending flow of prisoners for their slave trade!


For the people of Benin, Ouidah is especially famous for its powerful voodoo priests and fetishes. Along all the roadsides you will see fetishes and holy places. Ouidah is the center of the Voudon religion. Voudon became corrupted to Voodoo as it spread with the slaves to the Caribbean and North and South America, but the basic tenets and practices are the same. The center of Voudon in Ouidah is the temple of the Pythons. This snake temple has turned into a tourist attraction where visitors can be photographed with a python snake around their neck. According to the guide, the snakes are set free at the end of the day to wander around town.