Côte d'Ivoire - Sudanese style mosques in northern Côte d’Ivoire

"The eight small adobe mosques, at Tengréla, Kouto, Sorobango, Samatiguila, M’Bengué, Kong and Kaouara are characterized by protruding timbers, vertical buttresses crowned by pottery or ostrich eggs, and tapering minarets. They present an interpretation of an architectural style thought to have originated around the 14th century in the town of Djenné, then part of the Empire of Mali, which prospered from the trade in gold and salt across the Sahara to North Africa. Particularly from the 16th century, the style spread south from the desert regions into the Sudanese savannah, becoming lower and developing stouter buttresses in response to the wetter climate. The mosques are the best conserved of 20 such edifices that remain in Côte d’Ivoire, where hundreds existed early last century. The mosques’ distinctive Sudanese style, specific to the savannah region of West Africa, developed between the 17th and 19th centuries as traders and scholars spread south from the Empire of Mali, extending the trans-Saharan mercantile routes into the forest area. They present highly important testimonies to the trans-Saharan trade that facilitated the expansion of Islam and Islamic culture and reflect a fusion of Islamic and local architectural forms in a highly distinctive style that has persisted over time."

Source: UNESCO World Heritage

Missing - Cote d'Ivoire - Comoé National Park

"One of the largest protected areas in West Africa, this park is characterized by its great plant diversity. Due to the presence of the Comoé river, it contains plants which are normally only found much farther south, such as shrub savannahs and patches of thick rainforest." Source: UNESCO World Heritage

Missing - Cote d'Ivoire - Taï National Park

"This park is one of the last major remnants of the primary tropical forest of West Africa. Its rich natural flora, and threatened mammal species such as the pygmy hippopotamus and 11 species of monkeys, are of great scientific interest." Source: UNESCO World Heritage

Cote d'Ivoire - Guinea - Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve

"Located on the borders of Guinea, Liberia and Côte d’Ivoire, Mount Nimba rises above the surrounding savannah. Its slopes are covered by dense forest at the foot of grassy mountain pastures. They harbour an especially rich flora and fauna, with endemic species such as the viviparous toad and chimpanzees that use stones as tools." 

Source: UNESCO World Heritage

Postcard 1 - Guinea Mont Nimba

Mont Nimba is a UNESCO World Heritage in Guinea. Postmarked Feb 4, 2014. Thanks to Madeleine for mailing from Republique de Guinee with two nice stamps.

Postcard 2 - Guinea Nimba

A limited print postcard made in Europe of Guinea Nount Nimba. Thanks to Inigo of Spain.