Burkina Faso Photos

Tenkodogo is the capital city of Boulgou Province and Centre-Est Region in Burkina Faso with a population of 40,839 (2006).

Kompienga province – is one of the 45 provinces in Burkina Faso.

The CFA franc of the West African Monetary Community is in a fixed exchange rate to the euro. 1 euro entsprcht about 656 CFA Fr. One should be careful, always ready to change, because rarely enough change available.

Popular souvenirs include:

* Hand-made cotton blankets Dori
* Arts and crafts from all over West Africa on the SIAO
* Honey from Gourma
* Natural Schibutter
* Drums

Typical of West Africa, Burkina Faso ( formerly knows as Upper Volta)was populated early, between 12000 and 5000 BC, by hunter-gatherers in the northwestern part of the country, whose tools, such as scrapers, chisels and arrowheads, were discovered in 1973. Settlements appeared between 3600 and 2600 BC with farmers. Based on traces of the farmers’ structures, the settlements appear to have been permanent. The use of iron, ceramics and polished stone developed between 1500 and 1000 BC, as well as a preoccupation with spiritual matters, as shown by burial remains.

Relics of the Dogon are found in Burkina Faso’s north and northwest regions. The Dogon left the area between the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries to settle in the cliffs of Bandiagara. Elsewhere, the remains of high walls are localized in the southwest of Burkina Faso (as well as in the Côte d’Ivoire), but the people who built them have not yet been definitively identified.

During the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, Burkina Faso was a very important economic region for the Songhai Empire.

As with most of West Africa, the best time to go is weather related. November to February are the cooler months of the year, although the dusty harmattan winds might temper your enthusiasm between the months of December and February.

Film enthusiasts won’t want to miss Fespaco, Africa’s premier film festival, which runs in odd-numbered years. The cultural festival begins early April.

Ouagadougou (IPA: /ˌwɑgəˈduːguː/, Mossi IPA: [wɑg^əd^əg^ə]) is the capital of Burkina Faso. The administrative, communications, cultural and economic center of the nation, it is also the country’s largest city, with a population of 1,181,702 (as of 2006)^[1]. The city’s name is often shortened to Ouaga.

Ouagadougou’s primary industries are food processing and textiles. It is served by an international airport, rail links to Abidjan in Côte d’Ivoire and to Kaya in the north of Burkina, and a highway to Niamey, Niger. Being such a focal point, there are many cinemas, nightclubs, and French, American, and Zaka cultural centers. Ouagadougou was the site of Ouagadougou grand market, one of the largest markets in West Africa, which burned in 2003 and remains closed. Other attractions include the National Museum of Burkina Faso, the Moro-Naba Palace (site of the Moro-Naba Ceremony), the National Museum of Music, and several craft markets.

Burkina Faso (pronounced /bɚˌkiːnəˈfɑːsoʊ/ burr-KEE-na FAH-soh), also known by its short-form name Burkina, is a landlocked nation in West Africa. It is surrounded by six countries: Mali to the north, Niger to the east, Benin to the south east, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Côte d’Ivoire to the south west. Formerly called the Republic of Upper Volta, it was renamed on August 4, 1984, by President Thomas Sankara to mean “the land of upright people” in Moré and Dioula, the major native languages of the country. Literally, “Burkina” may be translated, “men of integrity,” from the Moré language, and “Faso” means “father’s house” in Dioula. Independence from France came in 1960. Governmental instability during the 1970s and 1980s was followed by multiparty elections in the early 1990s. Several hundred thousand farm workers migrate south every year to Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana in search of paid labour. The inhabitants of Burkina Faso are known as Burkinabé (pronounced /bɚˈkiːnəbeɪ/ burr-KEE-na-bay).