CAPITAL PORTO NOVO - POPULATION 8 MILLION - AREA 110,620 SQ KM -OFFICIAL LANGUAGE FRENCH
Diminutive Benin seems keen to start cashing in on its tourism potential, much of which lies in a heady mixture of slave-trade relics and live-and-kicking voodoo culture. With the arrival of George W Bush in 2008 for a fleeting visit – the first of any major national head to a country that was, until 30 years ago, known as Dahomey – there are hopes that people will start to visit, or at least know that Benin exists. Head to seaside Cotonou's Grand Marché du Dantokpa to buy your own DIY voodoo kit, or to the Royal Palaces of Abomey, Benin's sole but impressive Unesco World Heritage site, where three centuries of Abomey kings left their indelible mark.
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