Afrika in Focus Special: Unveiling Abidjan - Africa's Hidden Gem in Côte d'Ivoire

Can Africa rival the top travel destinations in Europe, Asia, and North America? Absolutely, and this week, we're setting our sights on the mesmerizing city of Abidjan in Côte d'Ivoire.

Join me, Kwame, as we uncover the essence of one of Africa's most dynamic urban landscapes. As many in the Western Hemisphere seek vacation spots, we aim to shatter the misconceptions fuelled by negative Western media propaganda and shine a light on Africa's often overlooked beauty and diversity.

With over 54 countries and 2000 languages, the continent offers unparalleled experiences, and Abidjan is a prime example of this hidden treasure trove.

Discover Abidjan’s tropical charm, modernity, and rich cultural tapestry that make it a must-visit destination. Nestled between Ghana and Liberia, Côte d'Ivoire offers both vibrant city life and stunning natural beauty.

Whether you're a globetrotter hungry for new experiences or simply curious about Africa beyond the headlines, this episode promises to enrich your travel radar.

Listen in and find out why Abidjan should be your next holiday destination, and don’t forget to subscribe to Africa in Focus on YouTube and Spotify for more captivating insights.

Sources:

The Africa You Don’t See On TV(Ivory Coast) (youtube.com)

Ivory Coast - Like You've Never Seen Before!!! | Abidjan, Cote D'Ivoire (youtube.com)

Ivory Coast: Africa Most Developed Country you never Knew (youtube.com)

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:02

Good evening and welcome to this week's edition of Africa in Focus with myself Kwame, ghanaian broadcaster, writer, journalist, podcaster and entrepreneur. And in this week's edition of Africa in Focus, we're looking at tourism and African content. And, as you know, if you live in the Western Hemisphere, it's the summer season, the holiday season in Europe and North America, so people will be going on their holidays June, july, august and so we thought that we'd bring you some you know tips to travel around the African continent, and this week we're going to be looking at one of the most captivating, cosmopolitan, developed cities in Africa, that is, abidjan, in La Côte d'Ivoire. All right, so before we get into this week's edition of the African Focus, just to let you know if you like what you hear, please share, please like your friends, your family, search on your networks. We are also on YouTube, so if you want to subscribe to the Ghana African Focus on YouTube, please do. It doesn't cost anything to subscribe to the programme. Just look out for Ghana African Focus on YouTube and subscribe and hit the notification bell, meaning that every time I upload a new podcast, youtube notifies you of that. All right, and also, we're also on spotify as well, and so if you listen to your podcast on spotify. Uh, look out for ghana africa in focus on spotify and click on follow again, meaning that every time I upload a new podcast to Spotify you'll be notified by that. Okay, so we've got 481. We want to try and get about at least 700 by the end of the year. So please subscribe to again African Focus on Spotify.

Speaker 1: 2:01

Okay, so let's start this edition of African Focus looking at tourism and more specifically, abidjan, the capital of Lacroix-des-Voix or Ivory Coast could be. If they live in Europe or live in North America or even live in Asia, africa really, or an African country isn't really considered a tourist destination. I mean you've got ones like Kenya. People go to Kenya for the circle safari. They may go to South Africa, they go to Egypt to look at the pyramids, etc. They may go to Tunisia, but to the pyramids etc. They migrate to Tunisia, but that's about it.

Speaker 1: 2:48

A lot of the African continent is still really unknown to many, many travellers, particularly those that live in the West, because the West has done a very good role in giving an image of Africa, that sort of hides in giving an image of Africa, that sort of hides the real beauty of Africa. So the Western media likes to portray the continent as you know corrupt governments, famine, war, aids, ebola, this kind of things. So when that seems to be the only news that comes out of Africa, you're not going to view any African country as a viable tourist destination. And so here on Africa in Focus, we want to dispel that western propaganda and tell you that Africa is a very, very beautiful continent. It is very diverse. It is also geographically speaking. It is probably the most diverse continent on the planet 54 countries speaking more than 2000 languages. So Africa is a very diverse continent indeed. You know, some of the cities in africa can rival, match anything that we see in in, you know, in asia, anything the best of europe and definitely best of north america. So one of these is I'm going to highlight to you today is abidjan, uh, in la cordevois. Or either coast and and so you know either coast sits on the western part of Africa, of the continent, and is bordered by, to the east, ghana and to the west, liberia, and you know, either coast has a very, very, you know, tropical climate, a bit similar to Ghana and other parts of West Africa. So, if you like, it very, very hot and Côte d'Ivoire is your place to be and it has the same time zone as Ghana. So right now, gmt is what time zone now we're here? So in the UK it's 10 41 British Summer Time, meaning that it's 9 41 GMT, and that would be the same time in La Côte d'Ivoire as well. And so what we're featuring today is the very, very stunning capital city of La Côte d'Ivoire, abidjan.

Speaker 1: 5:37

For those of you who have never been to Abidjan, you do not know what you're missing. Yeah, because Abidjan is a very, very cosmopolitan, very, very, er poetry diverse city and is also, in terms of infrastructure, probably the best city in terms of infrastructure in West Africa. I think it does beat Lagos and has got very, very fantastic roads as well. So you know either coast, or rather Abidjan, the capital city of La Côte d'Ivoire, is a city that I would definitely strongly, highly recommend. So infused with, you know, the great infrastructure and the great roads you know Abidjan also have, you know, great cuisine from around the world.

Speaker 1: 6:39

If you like the African food, you know the staple food. There is achike, that is like cassava. They also have like frappantine rice as well, and also have also a variety of you know international cuisine. So there's Lebanese cuisine, there's Chinese cuisine, there's Japanese cuisine, there's European cuisine all is found in Abidjan. Also, abidjan has a very, very vibrant nightlife as well. I think it's probably second to Lagos in terms of West Africa. So Abidjan does have a very, very vibrant nightlife as well, and aside from that, there's also places to visit and see, including some of the old colonial-type buildings and also the stunning beaches of Abidjan. And, yeah, there's a lot to do.

Speaker 1: 7:36

So, on the video, on the podcast, I will leave you three videos, videos of Abidjan, and they are different by different YouTubers, to give you an idea as to, you know, the stunning, picturesque city that is Abidjan. So, for example, one of the videos you know there's the Beverly Hills, believe it or not, in Abidjan, very, very unmarked area of Abidjan. You don't see that. The Beverly Hills, believe it or not, in Abidjan, very, very unmarket area of Abidjan. You don't see that, hardly see that in the West. You know, normally they go to a remote area or rural community where people live in the mud huts. No, in this, in one of the clips right, they talk about Beverly Hills, which is a suburb of Abidjan, and it is fantastic, and even the skyline of Abidjan that can match Paris, new York, london. That's how good Abidjan is.

Speaker 1: 8:34

And then also, one video also highlights the nightlife and also highlights other cities in La Côte d'Ivoire, particularly a city called Yamoussoukrou, which is north ofire, particularly a city called Yamoussoukroo, which is north of Abidjan, and that city, yamoussoukroo, hosts the world's biggest Catholic church. That was built, I believe, in the early 90s by the former president Hofei Wagny. He was the you could say say Wagni, he was the you could say the father of La Cote d'Ivoire, and he built that church, which is the biggest church in the world, in Yamoussoukro in the early 1990s. So you have a lot to see in these few videos that I will leave to you in the podcast and you know that will give you a really, really, you know, rounded and that will give you a really, really rounded and information-led view of the great city of Abidjan and why you should definitely put Abidjan on your bucket list and I would advise you to go this summer.

Speaker 1: 9:39

And Abidjan is a very stunning city to visit and you'd be surprised, particularly if you've never been to Africa before. You'd be surprised how stunning Abidjan really is. So it's a French speaking country, by the way. You know, french speaking country, I believe. I believe Abidjan is the third, the third largest city in the world that speaks French, after Paris and, I think, quebec, or sorry, montreal, sorry Montreal. So Abidjan, you know, is a French speaking city. So if you don't speak French, you know you can take a Google with you and that can help you navigate.

Speaker 1: 10:24

You know the currency and other issues in La Côte d'Ivoire, so I'm not going to say anything more for now, because I think the videos that I will leave you in the podcast say everything that you need to know about Abidjan, the stunning city of Ivory Coast, on the western side of Africa. All right, so that has been Africa in Focus for today, talking about tourism In this regard, looking at the great Africa in Focus for today, talking about tourism In this regard, looking at the great city of Abidjan. In next week's edition of Africa in Focus, we're going to look at Jamaica. Jamaica is another stunning country that you know doesn't really get a great you could say reputation in the Western media, but we will show you why you should visit Jamaica this summer. Alright, and so from myself, kwame, and from the crew here on Africa in Focus is thank you very much for listening and we'll see you in the next edition of Africa in Focus.