BANJUL, THE GAMBIA

The Gambia is Africa’s smallest non island country and is on the West Coast of Africa. It is also one of Africa’s most densely populated countries. A few towns are located upriver, but most Gambians live in rural villages.

It was founded in 1816, when the British Colonial Office ordered Captain Alexander Grant to establish a military post on the river to supress the slave trade and to serve as a trade outlet for merchants ejected from Senegal, which had been restored to France. Grant chose Banjul Island (ceded by the chief of Kombo) as the site, which he renamed St. Mary’s. He named the new settlement for Henry Bathurst then colonial secretary. It became the capital of the British colony and protectorate of Gambia and after 1947 was governed by a town council. With The Gambia’s independence in 1965, the town was granted city status and became the national capital. The name was changed to Banjul in 1973.

The country is known for the beaches along its small Atlantic coastline and for being home to Juffureh (Juffure), the reputed ancestral village of Kunta Kinte, the main character in  Alex Haley’s well-known novel Roots.

The Gambia has long been home to several different ethnic groups who have maintained their individual cultural traditions; as such, the country has a rich heritage. Weavers and textile dyers still make distinctive cloth throughout the country; The Gambia is noted for its indigo-dyed cloth in particular. Some drum and kora makers are still active, and recordings have been made of their traditional music.

Moreover the country’s is well known for its  diverse bird nature reserves and you don’t have to travel far to admire some of the 621 species of birdlife.