Banjul

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Banjul
Banjul King Fahad Mosque
Banjul Location of Banjul in The Gambia
Coordinates: 13°27′11″N 16°34′39″W / 13.45306°N 16.5775°W / 13.45306; -16.5775Coordinates: 13°27′11″N 16°34′39″W / 13.45306°N 16.5775°W / 13.45306; -16.5775
Country	The Gambia
Division	Banjul
Area
- Urban	35.9 sq mi (93 km2)
Population (2003)
- City	34,828
- Urban	357,238

Banjul (formerly Bathurst), officially the City of Banjul, is the capital of The Gambia, and located within the division of the same name. The population of the city proper is only 34,828, with the Greater Banjul Area, which includes the City of Banjul and the Kanifing Municipal Council, at a population of 357,238 (2003 census). It is located on St Mary's Island (Banjul Island) where the Gambia River enters the Atlantic Ocean. The island is connected to the mainland by passenger and vehicle ferries to the north and bridges to the south.

History

In 1816, the British founded Banjul as a trading post and base for suppressing the slave trade. It was first named Bathurst after Henry Bathurst, the secretary of the British Colonial Office, but was changed to Banjul in 1973.

Arch 22 at the entrance to Banjul

On July 22, 1994 Banjul was the scene of a bloodless military coup d'état in which President Dawda Jawara was overthrown and replaced by the country's current President Yahya Jammeh. To commemorate this event, Arch 22 was built as an entrance portal to the capital. The gate is 35 metres tall and the centre of an open square. It houses a textile museum.

Attractions in the city include the Gambian National Museum, the Albert Market, Banjul State House, Banjul Court House, two cathedrals and several major mosques.

Economy

Banjul is the main urban area of The Gambia and is the country's economic and administrative centre including the Central Bank of The Gambia. As the fourth most densely populated country in Africa, The Gambia has more than one urban area. Peanut processing is the country's principal industry, but beeswax, palm wood, palm oil, and skins and hides are also shipped from its port. View of Banjul from Arch 22. The museum includes handwritten pages from the Qur'an and explains a lot of Juju "magic".

Climate

Banjul has a hot climate all year round.

Weather averages for Banjul
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Average high °F	88	90	93	91	90	90	86	84	88	90	90	88
Average low °F	59	61	63	64	66	73	73	73	73	72	64	61
Average high °C	31	32	34	33	32	32	30	29	31	32	32	31
Average low °C	15	16	17	18	19	23	23	23	23	22	18	16
Source: [1] 8 December 2008

Transport

Banjul International Airport

Albert Market

A street in Banjul

Ferries sail from Banjul to Barra. The city is served by the Banjul International Airport. Banjul is on the Trans-West African Coastal Highway connecting it to Dakar and Bissau, and will eventually provide a paved highway link to 11 other nations of ECOWAS.

Districts

Districts of Banjul

Banjul Division (Greater Banjul Area) is divided into two districts:

• Banjul
• Kanifing

Twinned cities

Banjul is twinned with Grimsby in the UK and Newark, New Jersey in the United States. It has also been a sister city with Taipei, Taiwan since 1997. Since 2003 Banjul has had a fruitful citylink with the Belgian coastal town of Ostend. Cooperation is established in ICT-infrastructure for the B.C.C. and other projects for capacity building. Ostend-based humanitarian organisation Medios vzw is supporting the Female Surgical Ward of the Royal Victoria Teaching Hospital. (more info on http://stedenband.oostende.be) It is the destination of the Plymouth-Banjul Challenge, a charity road rally.

Banjul seen from SPOT satellite

See also

• Divisions of The Gambia
• Districts of The Gambia

References

1. ^ "Banjul, Gambia". BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/world/city_guides/results.shtml?tt=TT000230. Retrieved on 8 December 2008. 

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Banjul

• Access Gambia - Hotels, News, Travel & Photos
• Gambia news and information
• Gambia site with history of Banjul
• Gambia news

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