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 history of Ganvier has about five hundred years, it is also called the Venice of Africa. What is interesting, the first settlers appeared here not by their own 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 backbone of the local ethnos was the "von" group. The large tribe co-operated with the Portuguese conquerors. To prevent their own people from being sold into slavery, they captured and marketed people from smaller ethnicities. The Von warriors were numerous and strong, few could stand up to them. According to the religion of the Von people, warriors were forbidden to cross water. The Tofinu community took advantage of this taboo and settled on the vast Lake Nokue and remained there forever, forming a challenging culture of lake life.
Ganvier is one of the relatively prosperous settlements, living off the sale of fish in the markets of nearby towns. Small islands pop up on the lake from time to time, and they quickly find use for grazing domesticated land animals. There is an intricate system of underwater pens that are used as farms to raise various species of fish to supply the city. Small boats are used for any movement between houses.
For tourists, Ganvier has only a few souvenir shops and local handicrafts, the only hotel with a restaurant. This marvellous town is listed as a UNESCO site.
