Located on the Gulf of Guinea, between Liberia, and Guinea, Ivory Coast, known also as Côte d'Ivoire was a French colony until 1960, when became independent. Former political capital and primary economic center of the country, Abidjan is the largest city in the nation and the third-largest French-speaking city in the world, after Paris and Kinshasa. Located in Ébrié Lagoon on several converging peninsulas and islands connected by bridges, it is considered a cultural hub of West Africa, being characterized by a high level of industrialization and urbanization. The city grew up quickly after the construction of a new wharf in 1931, and the completion of the Vridi Canal in 1951 enabled it to become an important sea port. In 1983 Yamoussoukro was designated as the official capital city of Ivory Coast, but almost all political institutions and foreign embassies are still in Abidjan.
Sights in Abidjan include St Paul's Cathedral, designed by Aldo Spirito, the Cocody Municipal Museum of Contemporary Art and the Parc du Banco rainforest reserve. Dubbed by some little Paris or little Manhattan, Le Plateau, the business centre of the city, is known for its skyscrapers, unusual in West Africa. Since the establishment of the rail district to accommodate the terminus of the railway Abidjan-Niger, Le Plateau has grown rapidly to become the administrative, commercial and financial center of Côte d'Ivoire, and holds an important place in West Africa. One of its amazing features is to welcome thousands of bats at dusk.
On the postcard is also an akan parures. The Akan are a nation and indigenous ethnic group residing in the southern regions of the Gold Coast region in what are today the republics of Ghana and the Ivory Coast. Akans are the largest ethnic group in both countries, but aren't a racially homogeneous ethnicity. The identity of an Akan nation or ethnicity is expressed by the term Akanman, which has been translated as Akanland. Akan cultural jewelry has a variety of forms, and isn't just ornamental; rituals and religion play a major part in the adornment of jewelry. Each piece is represented and worn for a particular reason, ranging from aesthetics to identifying marks of a society or group as well as Akan beliefs.
About the stamps
The first stamp was issued on December 22, 2003, within the campaign Together Against AIDS.
The second stamp is part of the series Traditional Kings and Chiefs, issued on November 22, 2005:
• Chief Tchaman (30 XOF)
• Chief Tchaman (70 XOF)
• Yacouba, Baoule, Abron (80 XOF)
• King Akan (250 XOF)
References
Abidjan - Wikipedia
Akan Jewelry Symbols - Centre For Indigenous Knowledge Systems
Sender: Bakaizi Diacte
Sent from Abidjan (Ivory Coast), on 27.07.2014
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