Bondoukou

Founded by Soninke Wangara merchants in the mid-eighteenth century, Bondoukou became a significant town on the kola and gold routes and a centre of Muslim scholarship with a large number of mosques for its size, several of them in the Sudanese earthen style. The old quarters keep courtyard houses and narrow lanes, and the town's Koumbala mosque and others are still in use. It is a working provincial centre in a quiet corner of the country near the Ghanaian frontier.

History

The area was first lived in by the Gbin, Loro and Nafana clans, and the town was founded by Soninke Wangara merchants, ancestors of the Dyula, in the mid-18th century. Influences from the north gave many of its mosques the Sudanic style of Timbuktu and Djenne, and the house used by the French explorer Louis Gustave Binger still stands (Wikipedia, Bondoukou).

The main sights

• The earthen mosques - Sudanese-style buildings through the old quarters.
• The old town - courtyard houses and lanes from the trading period.
• The scholarly tradition - the town's long history as a centre of Islamic learning.
• The border trade - the routes east into Ghana that the town grew on.

When to go

November to February is the dry season and the most comfortable; the harmattan brings cool nights and haze. The rains from June to October make the roads difficult. Friday changes the rhythm of the town.

Practical notes

Non-Muslims may not be admitted inside the mosques and this varies. The drive from Abidjan is long, most of a day. Accommodation is basic and limited.

Nearby

Soko is nearby, and Abengourou is southwest.

Key facts