Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Up with Geography: Benin

Name:
Benin

Capital:
Porto-Novo

Continent:
Africa

Maps:

Map of Africa. Benin outlined in dark
ink and shaded.

A close-up of Benin & its neighbors.

Neighbors:
Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, Togo

Water Borders:
Bight of Benin

Total Area:
43,484 square miles

Five Largest Cities:
Cotonou, Abomey-Calavi, Porto-Novo, Djougou, Parakou

Famous Geographical Point:
Pendjari National Park

Famous Person:
Djimon Hounsou, actor

Book Set In/About:
Dawn to Dusk: Folk Tales from Benin by Iro Eweka

A collection of Edo (Benin) folktales.

Movie Set In/About:
"Barbecue-Pejo" (2000), directed by Jean Odoutan

A farmer chases his dream of a better life through terrible lows and triumphant highs.

Headline of the Day:
"Energy Minister Resigns Over $4.5m Fraud Allegation" in Pulse Nigeria.

2 comments:

Patricia said...

Main thing I learned from this post? A "bight" is a thing. A bend or a curve in any geographic feature, usually a coast. Shallower than a sound.

Good to know.

Also, I had no idea this country existed, but I'm glad it gave us Djimon Hounsou. He's a good actor.

balyien said...

Yes, this is the first time "bight" entered my personal lexicon as well. I'd heard of Benin before, but that's about it. As in, "Benin? I know it's a country in Africa. Other than that, no idea." This project has been very educational for me!