TERRITOIRES

Founded around 1680 by Foli Bebe, Glidji is the beating heart of Guin spirituality. It is here, on the peaceful banks of the lagoon, that the Guin people settled after their migration from Accra. More than a village, it is a sacred land where ancestral power resides. Each year, Glidji becomes the epicenter of the world during the Epe-Ekpe ceremony (the Taking of the Sacred Stone). In its mystical clearings, under centuries-old trees, the high priests consult the divinities to read the omens for the year to come. The atmosphere is of a rare density, charged with a fervor that spans centuries.

Nlessi is the cosmopolitan district par excellence. Its very name, evoking English influence, tells of the centuries of trade on the coast. It was here that trading posts flourished, where languages crossed like the currents of the estuary. The narrow streets of Nlessi keep the trace of old warehouses and the homes of wealthy merchant families. It is a living, noisy district, where one feels the energy of a city that has always looked towards the distant horizon.