Monday 11 November 2013

Benin

The second and last card for today :P It's a new country to my collection as well, and one of the few postcards I have from Africa. Thank you a million, Johanna! I love markets views as well so this card is pretty much perfect :)


Benin is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, by Nigeria to the east and by Burkina Faso and Niger to the north. A majority of the population live on its small southern coastline on the Bight of Benin. The capital of Benin is Porto-Novo, but the seat of government is in Cotonou, the country's largest city. Benin covers an area of approximately 110,000 square kilometers, with a population of approximately 9.05 million. Benin is a tropical, sub-Saharan nation, highly dependent on agriculture, with substantial employment and income arising from subsistence farming.

The official language of Benin is French. However, indigenous languages such as Fon and Yoruba are commonly spoken. The largest religious group in Benin is Roman Catholicism, followed closely by Islam, Vodun and Protestantism. Benin is a member of the United Nations, the African Union, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, South Atlantic Peace and Cooperation Zone, La Francophonie, the Community of Sahel-Saharan States, the African Petroleum Producers Association and the Niger Basin Authority.

From the 17th to the 19th century, the main political entities in the area were the Kingdom of Dahomey along with the city-state of Porto-Novo and a large area with many different tribes to the north. This region was referred to as the Slave Coast from as early as the 17th century due to the large number of slaves shipped to the New World during the Trans-Atlantic slave trade. After slavery was abolished, France took over the country and renamed it French Dahomey. In 1960, Dahomey gained full independence from France, and had a tumultuous period with many different democratic governments, many military coups and military governments.

 A Marxist-Leninist state called the People's Republic of Benin existed between 1972 and 1990. In 1991, it was replaced by the current multi-party Republic of Benin.

Shau Kei Wan Road, Shau Kei Wan, Hong Kong

Just a very small update for today... starting with this lovely card from Hong Kong that I received earlier this year.


A Hello Kitty tram! :D Apparently they are not very common, or at least that's what Vince who sent me this card told me.

 Shau Kei Wan is a town in The Eastern District, located in the north east of Hong Kong Island. Literally, Shau Kei means a pail, and Wan implies that the town is developed along the coast. Nowadays it is a relatively densely populated town compared with some developing areas.