| Page Views: 220 Last Visit to Ganvie: March, 2008 | GANVIE, The Venice of Africa by janiebaxter - last update: May 5, 2008 |
The Power of Magic | Women in the Floating Market |
Ganvie a is must-see on a visit to Benin. 25,000 people live permanently on Lake Nakoue in houses built on stilts.
The town was established here during the early 1700’s when the Kings of Dahomey were raiding many villages and capturing the people to sell as slaves. The local King of the Toffa people, Abodohoue, took advantage of a religious rule that states the Kings of Dahomey could not pursue their enemies over water as the Juju (magic) would work against them, and also the lake was out of range of their guns. So the King took his people to safety and the town has stood on the Lake ever since. |
|  | Living on the Water The whole life of the town is lived on and in the water and the town is set out with a main street, a market place – floating of course, and side streets, churches, graveyards, mosques and a school. There is even a Lovers Lane. Most houses do not have electricity so people use kerosene or solar power or cook on a fire. |
Fishing on the Lake Most people make a living from fishing on Lake Nakoue. There are many fish farms along the journey to Ganvie and many people coming and going from Ganvie to Abomey-Calavi to sell fish or to buy goods sold at the lakeside or in the market.
See my main Benin pages for more general information on Benin.
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| Pros: | "Great for photos, very interesting and unique" | | Cons: | "Not everybody is happy to be photographed" | | In A Nutshell: | "A real must-see" |
janiebaxter's Ganvie Travel Tips
 Comments for janiebaxter about Ganvie | | | | |
lynnehamman Wed Jul 8, 2009 14:53 UTC
Another great African page, Janie. The Fish Farming tip is interesting. Hotel Germaine looks really good.I would love to see Benin one day (sigh!!) | Bwana_Brown Sat Jul 4, 2009 20:03 UTC
Another beautiful page on Benin - an amazing watery paradise and a unique fish-farming technique too! The Water Hyacinths tip was very interesting, reminding me of a similar plant invasion I saw on the Sepik River in remote Angoram, Papua New Guinea. | Pinat Fri Jun 26, 2009 15:35 UTC
You were the featured member when I logged in. Then I clicked on travel pages and randomly I clicked on one place and totally loved the intro picture. I'll come back to read and learn more about Africa. Greetings from sunny Ankara... |
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