Category: cote d’ivoire

i went to abidjan, cote d’ivoire for a few amazing days! cote d’ivoire is a resource rich country in west africa which has unfortunately been through 2 civil wars over the past 20 years, but is now very much ascendant. the ivorian people have a very hopeful view of the future, palpable even to a non-french speaker such as myself. cote d’ivoire has one of the fastest growing economies in the world, and some of the most significant economic disparity as well. interestingly, there are over 100,000 diaspora lebanese in abidjan, so there is some great food available – arguably something relatively unique in this region of west africa.

my days in this massive city of 5 million were spent wandering the colorful markets, some new shopping malls, and mid-century architectural masterpieces such as the hotel ivoire and st. paul’s cathedral. abidjan is a major business center in west africa and as such is relatively expensive. i stayed in the most inexpensive hotel i could find in the marcory neighborhood, the hotel petite beijing, which was a very chinese place. they provided daily breakfast outside the room door in a large plastic storage tote. the owner, who spoke only mandarin and maybe a little french, very kindly gave me a ride to the airport on my last day, at no extra charge. at least half a day was spent trying to obtain a covid-19 test for my onward travel; unlike many countries in africa which have private testing available, in cote d’ivoire everyone wanting to obtain a test to leave the country must use the same centralized system. everything worked out and it was all part of the adventure. abidjan is a great place to spend a few days!

adjame market in abidjan is one the largest, most crowded and most colorful markets in africa.

another project of cote d’ivoire’s former autocrat felix houphouet-boigny was the hotel ivoire. this brutalist architectural masterpiece was built in the 1960s and hosted all the visiting world leaders. it fell into significant disrepair during the civil war of the 2000s, but is now owned by an international chain and being restored.

abidjan has some very striking architecture, including st. paul’s cathedral. this is the second largest cathedral in africa, built to resemble an anthropomorphic giant. it was built by cote d’ivoire’s long-time autocrat and ardent catholic felix houphoeut-boigny in the early 1980s. houphoeut-boigny’s other catholic masterpiece is the basilica of our lady of peace in the administrative capital of cote d’ivoire, yamoussoukro, which is the largest church on earth.