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Porto Novo, Benin
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Porto Novo 
Kaśka GlancPorto Novo
Porto Novo is the capital city and one of the most attractive towns in Benin. It has numerous buildings from the times when the Portuguese used it as a base for buying slaves which were quickly sent by ships to the New World. It is located at the Porto Novo lagoon. It has a population of about 240 000.
History
In the 15th century the town was a Portuguese trading post. Since the end of the 17th century it was a capital of a small independent kingdom of Fon people, which was conquered by the kingdom of Dahomey. In 1883 it was taken by the French and one year later it became a capital of the French colony. It has been serving as a capital of Benin since 1960.
What to see
A great attraction in the town is the Musee Ethnographique which shows the history of Porto Novo and has a good collected works of Yoruba people, especially their masks. There is also the Palais Royal of King Toffa ,now a museum where you can see how African kings and their families lived before Colonial times. Not far from the town there is the Grand Marche d'Adjara which is held every fourth day. There is also a fascinating Brazilian-style church which is transformed into a mosque. Another excellent alternative for a day trip is to rent a pirogue and to make a trip the villages on the lagoon.
