Ouidah

Ouidah

Ouidah, otherwise known as Whydah, is a town in South Benin, West Africa. It is located on the Gulf of Guinea. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the town was the main port of the Kingdom of Abomey. Portuguese, French, Dutch, Danes, British and Americans competed for a share of the slave and palm oil trade, made accessible through the efficiently organized and centralized kingdom of Ouidah. The area came under French rule in 1893. Some of the old fortresses, a cathedral and a temple of the Abomey religion remain. Today the area is used to grow coconuts, palm trees and coffee. Ouidah is linked by road and rail to Cotonou, 32 km to the east, Benin's main port and commercial center. Ouidah's attractions feature the restored mansion of Brazilian slave owners, a Vodun Python Temple, an early twentieth-century basilica and the Sacred Forest of Kpasse. Numerous statues and monuments, including the Door of No Return, can be found along the Route des Esclaves, where slaves were taken to the coast. Ouidah is often regarded as the spiritual capital of the Vodun religion, and is the site of an annual international Vodun conference.