Togo

My Togo travel summary:

Visited: November 2013

Duration of visit: 5 days

Capital city: Lomé

Population: 7.0 million (2013)

Togo travel blog reading time: 5 minutes

• Palm-lined beaches, exotic markets and knowledgeable moto-taxi drivers in Lomé.
• Visiting the world’s largest voodoo market, Marche des Feticheurs.
• Shaman explaining the meaning of strange items for sale.
• Fortified villages, shrines, and animal skulls in Tamberma Valley.

My Togo travel adventure was part of a three-week journey through Benin, Niger, and Togo during the winter of 2013.

Togo and Benin have a lot in common. They share the French language, a long and narrow shape along the Gulf of Guinea, and widespread use of bush taxis and moto-taxis in the larger cities.

Togo was part of the Slave Coast between the 16^th and 18^th centuries and has experienced many ups and downs since independence. Its first president was assassinated in a military coup. His successor, Gnassingbé Eyadéma, ruled for 38 years, first developing the country and later turning it into a harsh dictatorship.

Although Togo has a rich cultural heritage and some wildlife, it offers relatively few exciting things to do or appealing places to visit.

Lomé, with its palm-lined coast and sandy beaches, could be an idyllic city and a major tourist attraction. It could attract thousands of tourists, bringing income to the local community.

Once known as the Pearl of West Africa, Lomé declined after political turmoil in the 1990s resulted in economic collapse. Many people fled to neighboring countries, and the crisis persisted for years.

Today, Togo’s capital is just another African city that has not fully used its development potential.

Most residents improvise to get through each day, while many newcomers from rural areas move to the city in search of a better future. There are very few tourists around. I couldn’t find any particularly interesting highlights or worthwhile places to visit.

The main landmarks are around the central Independence Monument. These include the Congressional Palace, the National Museum, some hotels, and parks.

My best experience in Lomé was riding a moto-taxi, watching the streets, colorful markets, and people moving around. It was a simple but rewarding thing to do with no particular plan.

Grand Marché and Marché des Fétiches are the principal markets in Lomé. As any big market in Western Africa, Grand Marché is dominated by women, dressed in colorful traditional cloths, selling all kind of goods: food, fabrics, clothes, electronics, souvenirs.

Children, hawkers, merchants, and buyers competed with loud music that added atmosphere to the crowded, rather dirty surroundings. Overall, people were friendly, not pushy, and allowed me to take photos.

The Akodessawa Fetish Market, or Marché des Féticheurs, is the world’s largest voodoo market. It features monkey heads, rotting birds, snake spine necklaces, talismans, dolls, crocodiles, skins, and other animal products.

During my visit, the place was quite deserted, giving me the chance to meet a local voodoo priest. In a short ceremony, he blessed me and wished me a safe journey. After a mix of strange words, shouting, and meditation, he explained the role of voodoo in daily life.

Walking among skulls, bones, and dead animals was very different from the pleasant smells of a spice market. Still, it was a revealing experience that showed the importance of voodoo in local daily life. One of the highlights of my Togo travel adventure.

My next stop was the Koutammakou area in northeastern Togo near the Benin border, where the Tamberma people live.

UNESCO added Tamberma Valley to the World Heritage List in 2004. It recognized the valley for the way local people live in harmony with the land and build distinctive fortified houses that define the area.

Tamberma Valley is a unique collection of fortified villages founded in the 17th century, known for its traditional architecture.

A typical compound (tata) consists of various towers that are connected by a thick, mud wall. The houses usually have only one doorway from the outside, making them look like strong castles. They kept out invaders, including neighboring tribes, slave traders, and later European conquerors.

Fetishes, which keep bad spirits away, adorn the outside of houses. They protect each inhabitant and prevent spirits from entering the home or its surroundings.

During my visit, two men were building a base for an oval tower that would be used as a warehouse for basic tools or millet and corn – main sources of basic diet. Builders don’t use any tools. Clay and straws are mixed with water and fortified with wood.

People protect their homes with fetishes and altars on which they make sacrifices to the spirits; fetish animal skulls are used for decoration on walls and ceilings. Beside agriculture, hunting with bows and arrows is the main activity to survive.

Two traditions of Tamberma people called my attention:

• A young man ready to marry shoots an arrow. Where it lands, he builds his tata (house).
• Women wear uncomfortable hats decorated with antelope horns, which also appear above house entrances as decoration.

Togo has rich culture, diverse landscapes, and amazing wildlife. The UNESCO site in Koutammakou, voodoo traditions, and sandy beaches along the Gulf of Guinea could easily attract many tourists. However, this potential remains hidden and will likely take many years to be fully explored.

In the meantime, I had a great time in Togo. I enjoyed traditional fufu made from boiled yams, the sandy beaches of Lomé, and traveling around by moto taxi or uncomfortable bush taxi. The cultural experience of the Tamberma people and learning about voodoo were the highlights of my short Togo travel adventure.