Lome

Lomé (lômā'), city (1998 est. pop. 700,000), capital of Togo, on the Gulf of Guinea. It is the country's administrative, communications, and industrial center, and the chief port, handling such items as coffee, cocoa, copra, and palm nuts. In 1978, the city's oil refinery began production. Railroads connect the city with Togo's agricultural interior and with Benin. Lomé was a small village until 1897, when it became the capital of the German colony of Togo. The Univ. of Benin (1970; formerly the Institute of Higher Studies of Benin) is there. Togo's main airport is outside Lomé.