Ganvier - African Venice (Ganvie) description and photos - Benin (Topic)

Ganvier - African Venice (Ganvie) description and photos - Benin. Detailed information about the attraction. Description, photographs and a map showing the nearest significant objects. The name in English is Ganvie.

Photo and description

Ganvier in the Republic of Benin is the largest pile hut village in Africa. 20 thousand people permanently live in "houses on stilts". The city is located in the center of Lake Nokue, and these are not new construction technologies: the history of Ganvier is about five hundred years old, it is also called the African Venice. Interestingly, the first settlers did not appear here of their own free will.

At the beginning of the seventeenth century, the country was called Dahomey and was one of the most powerful powers in West Africa. The basis of the local ethnos was the "background" group. The large tribe collaborated with the Portuguese conquerors. To prevent their own people from being sold into slavery, they caught and sold people from smaller nations. The von fighters were numerous and strong, few could resist them. According to the religion of the von people, warriors were forbidden to cross the waters. The Tofinu community took advantage of this taboo and settled on the huge Lake Nokue and stayed there forever, forming an uneasy culture of life on the lake.

Ganvier is one of the relatively prosperous settlements, where people live by selling fish in the markets of nearby cities. Small islands emerge from time to time on the lake, they very quickly find use for grazing domesticated land animals. There is an intricate system of underwater corrals that are used as fish farms to supply the city. Small boats are used for any movement between the houses.

For tourists in Ganve there are only a few shops for souvenirs and local handicrafts, the only hotel with a restaurant.

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Topic: Ganvier - African Venice (Ganvie) description and photos - Benin.