Abidjan

Abidjan
/ab'i jahn"/; Fr. /ann bee jahonn"/, n.
a seaport in and the commercial capital of the Ivory Coast. 1,850,000.

* * *

Largest city (pop., 1999 est.: 3,199,000) and chief port of Côte d'Ivoire.

Abidjan was a rail terminus from 1904; after its lagoon was opened to the sea to create a port (1950), the city became the financial centre of French West Africa. Though it was once the country's capital and remains its seat of government, the official capital was moved to Yamoussoukro in 1983. Abidjan has a museum of traditional Ivorian art, a national library, and several research institutes.

* * *

▪ Côte d’Ivoire
      chief port, de facto capital, and largest city of Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast). It lies along the Ébrié Lagoon, which is separated from the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic by the Vridi Plage sandbar. A village in 1898, it became a town in 1903. Abidjan was a rail terminus from 1904 but had to depend on the meagre facilities of Port-Bouët on the sandbar's ocean shore. It succeeded Bingerville as capital of the French colony in 1934 and retained that position after independence in 1960. In 1983 Yamoussoukro, a town located about 170 miles (274 km) to the northwest, was officially named the new national capital. The transfer of government functions proceeded slowly, however, and Abidjan remained the de facto capital into the 21st century. Districts within the city include Plateau, Cocody (site of the National University of Côte d'Ivoire), Treichville, Adjame, Koumassi, and Marcory.

      The Vridi Canal opened the lagoon to the sea in 1950, and the city soon became the major shipping and financial centre of French-speaking West Africa. The first of two bridges linking the mainland to Petit-Bassam Island was built in 1958. Abidjan's modern deepwater port exports coffee, cocoa, timber, bananas, pineapples, and manganese. From the administrative and business sectors on the mainland, the city stretches southward to the industrial area on Petit-Bassam and the mineral and petroleum docks along the Vridi Canal. There are a number of wide, shady streets and gardened squares in the city; the university (1958) lies on the eastern mainland. Abidjan has a museum of traditional Ivoirian art, a national library, and several agricultural and scientific research institutes. There are numerous tourist attractions, most notably the immense Hôtel Ivoire, which features a bowling alley, cinema, casino, and the only ice rink in Western Africa; the Italian-designed St. Paul's Cathedral is one of the continent's most elaborate churches. North of the city is Banco National Park, a magnificent tropical rainforest. Abidjan is a communications centre and the site of an international airport (at Port-Bouët, an autonomous municipality within Abidjan). Pop. (2005 est.) 3,576,000.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Abidjan — District d Abidjan   City   …   Wikipedia

  • Abidjan — Administration Pays Côte d Ivoire Région Région des lagunes Code département Création …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Abidjan — Abidjan …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • ABIDJAN — ABIDJA Ville principale de la Côte d’Ivoire, dont elle fut la capitale jusqu’au 21 mars 1983, date à laquelle est adopté le projet de loi relatif au transfert de la capitale dans le village natal du président Houphouët Boigny, Yamoussoukro,… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Àbidjan — m grad i luka Obale Bjelokosti …   Veliki rječnik hrvatskoga jezika

  • Abidjan — → Abiyán …   Diccionario panhispánico de dudas

  • Abidjan — [ab΄ə jän′] seaport in the Ivory Coast, on the Gulf of Guinea: former capital (until 1983): pop. 2,500,000 …   English World dictionary

  • Abidjan — Abi|d|jan [abi d̮ʒa:n ]: Regierungssitz von ↑ 1Elfenbeinküste. * * * Abidjan   [ dʒ ], wichtigste Hafen und Industriestadt der Republik Elfenbeinküste, Westafrika, an der Lagune Ébrié im Küstenbereich des Atlantischen Ozeans, hat als… …   Universal-Lexikon

  • Abidjan — Original name in latin Abidjan Name in other language ABJ, Abican, Abidjan, Abidzan, Abidzana, Abidzanas, Abidzhan, Abidan, Abidan, Abidana, Abidanas, Abigano, Abijan, Abiyan, Abiyn, Abiano, Ampitzan, Gorad Abidzhan, a bi rang, abdjan, abijan,… …   Cities with a population over 1000 database

  • Abidjan — ► C. de Costa de Marfil, cap. del dep. y del mun. homónimos; 1 661 841 h. Cap. de la República hasta 1983. * * * Ciudad más grande y puerto principal (pob., est. 1999: 3.199.000 hab.) de Costa de Marfil. A contar de 1904, Abidján fue un terminal… …   Enciclopedia Universal

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”