Gulf of Guinea

Nadoba, Togo 📍 - hanging out at the local #tchoukoutou #bar at the weekly #market in #nadoba, where the homemade brew is served in #calabash shells by friendly `bartenders` 😉 🇹🇬 ...

Cococodji, Benin 📍 - the beautiful route des pêches runs from ouidah to #cotonou through small towns, fishing villages, and beachfront resorts and restaurants, all connected by pristine palm-lined beaches! 🌴🇧🇯 ...

Djougou, Benin 📍 - women dressed in colorful traditional fabrics walking through a busy #market area of #djougou, the largest #city in northwestern #benin and center of the country`s #muslim population 🇧🇯 ...

Djougou, Benin 📍 - part of the royal #palace of the king of #djougou.  in #benin, like many other countries in #westafrica, tribal chiefs or kings coexist with the federal government, keeping local traditions alive.  and they aren`t just found in remote villages, even big cities like djougou have kings! 👑 🇧🇯 ...

Koutammakou, Togo 📍 - a view from the rooftop of one of the amazing batammariba houses in the #tamberma valley - each house has a room for livestock (which is shared by the family elders), a kitchen, small upstairs bedrooms, and granaries located on the #roof, which is also used to dry food 🇹🇬 ...

Douala, Cameroon 📍 - the old german colonial post office building in #douala.  the #city was known as "kamerunstadt" and capital of german #kamerun until 1902.  under the french rule, it was the capital of #cameroun from 1940 until 1946.  the capital was moved to yaoundé in 1960 when #cameroon became an independent nation. 🇨🇲 ...

Édea, Cameroon 📍 - this city of over 100,000 people between douala and yaoundé boasts #cameroon`s famous japoma #bridge (or just "german bridge") over the sanaga river.  interestingly, it was built, assembled, and tested in germany, before being taken apart and shipped by boat in pieces to cameroon in 1911.  despite being a famous historical sight in cameroon, apparently photography of bridges is not allowed, and i was chased down by a military officer who forced me to delete the photos on my camera. (after pleading with him in french that i`m just a tourist and an architect, a `gift` allowed me to keep this photo taken with my phone! 👍) 🇨🇲 ...

Koutammakou, Togo 📍 - another amazing fortress house in the #tamberma valley of northern #togo, ingeniously built by the batammariba people from a combination of mud, wood and straw 🇹🇬 ...

Ouidah, Benin 📍 - another beautiful colonial building in the centre of #ouidah, near the zinsou foundation museum 🇧🇯 ...

Parakou, Benin 📍 - bienvenue à #parakou!  the largest #city in the northeast of #benin is a bustling marketplace - the streets leading away from the grand #mosque behind me morph into a huge, lively market area.  located at the crossroads of important trade routes, parakou lives up to its name, which in the local language means "a city for everyone"! 🇧🇯 ...