The African Cocoa country of Cote D'Ivoire
The West African country of Cote D’Ivoire or Ivory Coast does not have a long pre-history as not much of the ancient ruins remain, however the first Portuguese ships arrived here in the 1460’s. Later on ethnic groups like the Kru, Senoufo, Lobi, Akan converged on Cote D’Ivoire from the neighbouring countries like Liberia, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Mali, Ghana and Guinea. In order to tap Cote D’Ivoire’s considerable Cocoa and Coffee plantations the French colonised the country in the 1890’s. It was not until 1960 when the people of Ivory Coast rose under the leadership of Félix Houphouët-Boigny, a Cocoa farmer to free their country of the french rule. Boigny transformed his home village Yamoussoukro into Cote D’Ivoire’s capital whereas Abidjan is Ivory Coast’s largest city and administrative center. Although the country enjoyed relative peace and prosperity under Bogny’s rule, however his successor Henri Konan Bédié reign in the 1990’s led to economic strife and imntenal turmol within Cote D’Ivoire. Ivory Coast is also a music lovng country and the Ivory Coast Soccer team has also made its mark at the 2006 football world cup. Lastly Cote D’Ivoire’s chocolate is world famous owing to its large cocoa plantations.
Cote D’Ivoire Facts and Info :
Cote D’Ivoire enjoys large forest coverage with considerable rainforests that are home to endangered species like the Pygmy Hippopotamus and many monkey species. The warm and humid equatorial; climate of Cote D’Ivoire has made it the world’s largest Cocoa producer apart from a significant producer of Coffee, Bananas and Palm oil. Cote D’Ivoire is even blessed when it comes to other natural and mineral resources such as petroleum, diamonds, bauxite and copper.
Economy and Culture of Cote D’Ivoire:
Cote D’Ivoire is the world’s largest Cocoa producer and exporter and about 70% of Ivorians are engaged in the agricultural sector. The country also receives aid from its from France, its former protectorate. Cote D’Ivoire’s GDP also benefits substantially from Coffee, Petroleum and Natural Gas exports. Abidjan in Cote D’Ivoire has many wealthy French expatriates and modern infrastructure including French-based schools. Cote D’Ivoire’s economy has also benefited from the significant exports of Ivory chocolates to all parts of the world.
Cote D’Ivoire is an amalgamation of more than sixty indigenous communities that can be grouped into seven clusters such as the Kru, Voltaic, Mande, Akan and others. The influence of neighbouring cultures is evident in Cote D’Ivoire’s music, food, dance and dress styles. The French influence is visible from the official French language and name of the country. The Ivoria’s are a music loving people and it characterises all aspects of their lives, be it birth, death, marriage with traditional music instruments like the talking drum, Akombe, Kpalago, Cleavers. Alpha Blondy, the famous Reggae singer belongs to Cote D’Ivoire.
Although the Cote D’Ivoire cuisine is similar to its neighbours, Maquis is a small open-air eatery unique to the Ivorians and grated cassava (Attieke) is the traditional Cote D’Ivorian dish to be had with Bangui, a local palm wine.
Tourist Attractions of Cote D’Ivoire:
Yamoussoukro, Cote D’Ivoire’s capital has many architectural places to visit such as the Cathédrale Notre-Dame-de-la-Paix whereas Abidjan has the Ifon Museum apart from the bustling central marketplace of Treichville. Visitors traveling to Cote D’Ivoire should definitely visit the beach resort of Assouinde in Abidjan, which also offers many skiing and shark watching opportunities.
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