Benin

Benin (French: Bénin), officially the Republic of Benin (French: République du Bénin), previously recognized as Dahomey, stands as a West African country. Encompassing 114,763 square kilometers (44,310 sq mi), this country is a petite tropical expanse. Benin shares its borders with Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the northwest, and Niger to the northeast.

Benin

Ethnographic Museum of Porto Novo

The Ethnographic Museum of Porto Novo has a large collection of religious objects of the Yoruba people. You can also visit the ornate 18th-century Brazilian-style church (now a mosque) built by the Portuguese. The palm-leaf-covered fishing village... read more

Benin

City beach

Four kilometres east of the centre of Cotonou is the city's best beach. It is quite safe, clean and crowded. Forty kilometres west of the capital, in the Vida area, lies an absolutely perfect beach (Vida is considered the "voodoo" ca... read more

Benin

The beaches of Gran Popo

Further west on the road, the beautiful beaches of Gran Popo stretch out. The beaches are safe, the sand is mesmerisingly white and the water is clear and clean, which is rare in this part of Africa.

Benin

Ganvier is the Venice of Africa

Ganvier in the Republic of Benin is the largest settlement of piled huts in Africa. 20,000 people live permanently in "houses on stilts". The city is located in the centre of Lake Nokue, and this is not a new construction technology: the... read more

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Egypt

Khan Al-Khalili Market

Khan-Al-Khalili is a large market in the Muslim neighbourhood of Cairo, one of the city's striking landmarks. The square that Khan-Al-Khalili occupies was originally the site of the Saffron Tomb mausoleum, the burial place of the Fatimid caliphs. Emir Al-Khalili ordered the destruction of the Fatimid cemetery in 1382 in order to build a large caravanserai. At that time, this was the central... read more

Greece

Ancient Agora

In the heart of Athens, northwest of the Acropolis, lie the ruins of the Ancient Agora. During the period of ancient Greece (from about the beginning of the 6th century BC) it was the political, financial, administrative, cultural and religious ce... read more

Mali

Niono

The city of Niono is known as the "Venice of Mali" because of its system of canals and channels that criss-cross the entire city, and the local brick mosque is almost as famous as the famed Djenné Mosque.