Posted
on November 15, 2015
I
couldn't find a single detail about why Côte
d'Ivoire (“Ivory Coast”)
celebrates a “National Peace Day,” so I'm a bit skeptical that it
really does. However, I love promoting peace, and I love learning
about the many and varied nations of the world. So I thought, why not
just admit that it may or may not be “National Peace Day” in Côte
d'Ivoire – but
still take advantage of the fact that the internet votes “yay,”
and use it as an excuse to talk about this fascinating Western
African nation.
Several
kingdoms and empires existed in the area before European powers
colonized it; in the mid-1800s, Côte
d'Ivoire became a
protectorate of France and later a full-fledged French colony. After
it achieved independence in 1960, Côte
d'Ivoire was ruled
by one man for several decades; but it recently experienced a coup
d'état and two civil
wars.
Not
so wonderful!
However,
like all other nations, Côte
d'Ivoire has some great things to celebrate.
 |
Yamoussoukro, above.
Abidjan, below. |
Côte
d'Ivoire has an admirable amount of religious diversity, with close
to a third of the population being Muslim, a third being Christian
(mostly Catholic), and a third following Animism / native African
religions. It is home to one of the largest Catholic basilicas in
the entire world.
Some articles claim that it is THE largest
basilica, and even THE largest church building, in the world.
However, according to Wikipedia,
it's #8 for basilicas and #17 for all church buildings.
Tai
National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is billed as one
of the last remaining areas of never-been-cut rainforest in all of
Africa. Of the more than 140 species of mammals found in the park,
five of them are on the Red List of threatened species: the pygmy
hippopotamus, leopard, chimpanzee, Jentink's duiker, and olive
colobus monkey.
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