Lagos City in Nigeria

7 January 2024 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  12 minutes

Sunset at Landmark Beach © Kwadoskii/cc-by-sa-4.0

Sunset at Landmark Beach © Kwadoskii/cc-by-sa-4.0

Lagos (Yoruba: Èkó) or Lagos City is the most populous city in Nigeria, with an estimated population of 21 million in 2015. Lagos is the most populous urban area in Africa. Lagos was the national capital of Nigeria until December 1991 following the government‘s decision to move their capital to Abuja in the centre of the country. Lagos is a major African financial centre and is the economic hub of Lagos State and Nigeria at large. The city has a significant influence on commerce, entertainment, technology, education, politics, tourism, art, and fashion in Africa. Lagos is also among the top ten of the world’s fastest-growing cities and urban areas. The megacity has the fourth-highest GDP in Africa and houses one of the largest and busiest seaports on the continent. Due to the large urban population and port traffic volumes, Lagos is classified as a Medium-Port Megacity.   read more…

Theme Week Djibouti – Djibouti City

25 November 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  7 minutes

Djibouti Port © flickr.com - CharlesFred/cc-by-sa-3.0

Djibouti Port © flickr.com – CharlesFred/cc-by-sa-3.0

Djibouti (also called Djibouti City and Jibuti in early Western texts) is the eponymous capital of Djibouti. It is located in the coastal Djibouti Region on the Gulf of Tadjoura. Djibouti has a population of around 600,000 inhabitants, which counts for 54% of the country’s population. The settlement was founded in 1888 by the French, on land leased from the ruling Somali and Afar Sultans. During the ensuing period, it served as the capital of French Somaliland and its successor the French Territory of the Afars and Issas.   read more…

Theme Week Djibouti – Obock

24 November 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  11 minutes

© Luc Michel/cc-by-sa-3.0

© Luc Michel/cc-by-sa-3.0

Obock (also Obok, Afar: Hayyú) is a small port town in Djibouti. It is located on the northern shore of the Gulf of Tadjoura, where it opens out into the Gulf of Aden. The town is home to an airstrip and has ferries to Djibouti City. The French form Obock derives from Arabic “Oboh”, deformation of Oboki, a name given to the Wadi Dar’i in its middle part, upstream of its coastal delta.   read more…

Theme Week Djibouti – Ali Sabieh

23 November 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  6 minutes

© Skilla1st/cc-by-sa-4.0

© Skilla1st/cc-by-sa-4.0

Ali Sabieh (Somali: Cali Sabiix) is the second largest city in Djibouti. It is situated about 98 kilometres (61 miles) Southwest of Djibouti City and 10 km (6 mi) north of the border with Ethiopia. It sprawls on a wide basin surrounded by granitic mountains on all sides. Ali Sabieh mild climate makes it a popular tourist destination for Djiboutians. The famous landmark of Ali Sabieh is located near the city.   read more…

Theme Week Djibouti – Dikhil

22 November 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  5 minutes

Entrance to Dikhil © Cjulien21/cc-by-sa-3.0

Entrance to Dikhil © Cjulien21/cc-by-sa-3.0

Dikhil is a town in the western Dikhil Region of Djibouti. Lying east of Lake Abbe. It is situated about 122 km (76 mi) southwest of Djibouti City and 12 km (7.5 mi) north of the border with Ethiopia. It serves as the administrative centre of the Dikhil Region, and is home to the Afar and Somali ethnic groups. The town develops gardens and fruit trees.   read more…

Theme Week Djibouti – Tadjoura

21 November 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  5 minutes

Tadjoura, the White city © Miaz85/cc-by-sa-4.0

Tadjoura, the White city © Miaz85/cc-by-sa-4.0

Tadjoura (Afar: Tagórri; Arabic: Tajūrā’, Somali: Tajuura) is one of the oldest towns in Djibouti and the capital of the Tadjourah Region. The town evolved into an early Islamic center with the arrival of Muslims shortly after the Hijra. An important port for many centuries, it was ruled by a succession of polities, including the Ifat Sultanate, Adal Sultanate, the Ottoman Empire, France until Djibouti‘s independence in 1977. Lying on the Gulf of Tadjoura, it is home to a population of around 45,000 inhabitants. It is the third-largest city in the country after Djibouti and Ali Sabieh.   read more…

Theme Week Djibouti

20 November 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Bon voyage, Theme Weeks Reading Time:  8 minutes

Moucha Island © flickr.com - Keo the Younger/cc-by-sa-2.0

Moucha Island © flickr.com – Keo the Younger/cc-by-sa-2.0

Djibouti, officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Somalia to the south, Ethiopia to the southwest, Eritrea in the north, and the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden to the east. The country has an area of 23,200 km² (8,958 sq mi).   read more…

Mediterranean Region

29 July 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, French Riviera, European Union, Living, Working, Building, Sport, UNESCO World Heritage, Union for the Mediterranean Reading Time:  28 minutes

Monaco © Tobi 87/cc-by-sa-3.0

Monaco © Tobi 87/cc-by-sa-3.0

In biogeography, the Mediterranean Basin, also known as the Mediterranean Region or sometimes Mediterranea, is the region of lands around the Mediterranean Sea that have mostly a Mediterranean climate, with mild to cool, rainy winters and warm to hot, dry summers, which supports characteristic Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub vegetation.   read more…

Kinshasa in Congo

3 February 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  7 minutes

© flickr.com - Antoine Moens de Hase/cc-by-2.0

© flickr.com – Antoine Moens de Hase/cc-by-2.0

Kinshasa (Lingala: Kinsásá), formerly Léopoldville (Dutch: Leopoldstad), is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Once a site of fishing and trading villages situated along the Congo River, Kinshasa is now one of the world’s fastest growing megacities.   read more…

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