Serekunda

Serekunda grew out of a group of villages into by far the largest urban area in the Gambia, several times the size of the capital, and its centre is the market: a sprawl of stalls, workshops and lock-ups selling cloth, produce, hardware and everything else, spilling into the streets around it. Tie-dye and batik workshops operate on the edges and the whole place is loud and constant. The name means Sayerr's town, after the founder of the original settlement the others grew around.

Background

The town's founder, Sayerr Jobe, was a Wolof from Koki, a place in the Kingdom of Cayor that lies in present-day northern Senegal. He established the settlement in the latter half of the 19th century and, before he died in 1896, passed authority to his seven sons. The town later merged with several villages. Because Banjul sits on a small island with little room to grow, people and businesses moved to Serekunda instead. Together the two form the Kombos, an urban area holding about half the population of the Gambia, and in 2013 the urban population stood at 382,096. Its market is the largest in the country, and the city has several football stadiums.

Source: Wikipedia, "Serekunda"

What's there

• The central market - the sprawl of stalls the town is built around.
• The cloth trade - tie-dye and batik workshops on the market edges.
• The scale - by far the largest urban area in the country.
• The street trade - stalls spilling well beyond the market building.

When to go

November to February is the cool dry season. Mornings are busiest and coolest. The rains from June to October make the streets difficult.

Before you go

It is crowded, hot and chaotic, and pickpocketing happens in the market. There is nothing arranged for visitors. Photography of people needs asking first.

Nearby

Bijilo is west, and Banjul is northeast.

Key facts