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60-576: Dakar is situated on the Cap-Vert peninsula, the westernmost point of mainland Africa. Cap-Vert was colonized by the Portuguese in the early 15th century. The Portuguese established a presence on the island of Gorée off the coast of Cap-Vert and used it as a base for the Atlantic slave trade . France took over the island in 1677. Following the abolition of the slave trade and French annexation of

120-522: A "moderate" scenario of climate change where global warming reaches ~2.5–3 °C (4.5–5.4 °F) by 2100, the climate of Dakar in the year 2050 would most closely resemble the current climate of Praia in Cape Verde . The annual temperature would increase by 1.5 °C (2.7 °F), and the temperature of the warmest and the coldest month by 1.4 °C (2.5 °F) and 1.6 °C (2.9 °F), respectively. According to Climate Action Tracker ,

180-524: A big influence on the youth with famous artists like Daara J Family who use their voice to represent the problems in their communities. Dakar is home to multiple national and international festivals, like World Festival of Black Arts , Festival international du film de quartier de Dakar, Dakar Biennale . It was also the location of Taf Taf , an international artist residency program. Sports club AS Douanes are based in Sicap-Liberté ; they play in

240-647: A fort was built by the French and Rufisque was annexed to the Colony of Senegal . The "Escale" commercial and administrative neighborhood along the waterfront was laid out in 1862—the African inhabitants being pushed out in the process. Rufisque became a "commune" in 1880 and its port was connected to the Dakar-Saint Louis railroad in 1885. In 1909 Galandou Diouf (died 1941) was elected to represent Rufisque in

300-468: A short rainy season and a lengthy dry season. Dakar's rainy season lasts from July to October, while the dry season covers the remaining eight months. The city sees approximately 411 mm (16.2 in) of rainfall per year. Dakar between December and May is usually very warm with daily temperatures around 25–28 °C (77.0–82.4 °F). Nights during this time of the year are warm, some 18–20 °C (64.4–68.0 °F). However, between May and November

360-545: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Rufisque Rufisque ( Arabic : روفيسك ; Wolof : Tëngeéj) is a city in the Dakar region of western Senegal , at the base of the Cap-Vert Peninsula 25 kilometres (16 mi) east of Dakar , the capital. It has a population of 295,459 (2023 census). In the past it was an important port city in its own right, but is now a suburb of Dakar. Rufisque

420-474: Is also a department , one of the 45  departments of Senegal . This situation is quite similar to Paris , which is both a commune and a department. However, contrary to French departments, departments in Senegal have no political power (no departmental assembly), and are merely local administrative structures of the central state, in charge of carrying out some administrative services as well as controlling

480-618: Is also the capital of the department of the same name . Originally a Lebou fishing village called Tenguedj ( Wolof : Tëngéej ), Rufisque became important in the 16th century as the principal port of the kingdom of Cayor , being frequented by Portuguese (who named it Rio Fresco , meaning "Freshwater River", hence the name of the modern city), Dutch, French and English traders. A Euro-African Creole , or Métis , community of merchants grew up there, in close contact with similar communities in Saint Louis , Gorée and other places along

540-400: Is built in 1964 and one of the prominent landmarks of the city. Dakar is flanked by four small islands, île de Yoff, Île de N'Gor, Îles de la Madeleine and Île de Gorée . Île de N'Gor is on the northern shore of N'Gor commune, with beaches providing attractions such as surfing. N'Gor commune also has other popular beach resorts such as Plage de N'Gor. Île de Gorée, formerly a slave island,

600-583: Is home to as many as 20,000 French expatriates. France still maintains an air force base at Yoff and the French fleet is serviced in Dakar's port. Beginning 1978 and until 2007, Dakar was frequently the ending point of the Dakar Rally . Dakar is located on the Cap-Vert peninsula on the Atlantic coast and is the westernmost city on the African mainland. Dakar has an ocean-influenced hot semi-arid climate ( Köppen climate classification : BSh ), with

660-678: Is home to the Autonomous Port of Dakar and the terminus of the non-functioning Dakar-Niger railroad line . Three trans-African automobile routes start from Dakar: The Train Express Regional Dakar-AIBD (TER) will connect Dakar with Blaise Diagne International Airport (AIBD). An initial 36 km will link Dakar to Diamniadio and a second phase of 19 km would connect Dakar to the Blaise Diagne airport. A total of 14 train stations will be served and

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720-693: Is the hub of Senegal's flag carrier, Air Senegal . Dakar is twinned with: Cap-Vert Cap-Vert , or the Cape Verde Peninsula , and Kap Weert or Bopp bu Nëtëx (in Wolof ), is a peninsula in Senegal and the westernmost point of the continent of Africa and of the Afro-Eurasia mainland. Portuguese explorers called it Cabo Verde or "Green Cape". The Cape Verde islands, 570 kilometres (350 mi) further west, are named after

780-410: Is to portray rudeness and oftentimes ignorance. Due to French colonialism, the children of Dakar have a unique school system. The school will get a break at about midday and return home to get some rest. Since the population is majority Muslim, there are numerous daily Islamic activities ongoing, such as participating in noon prayer at the nearest mosque and attending the local mosque on Fridays. Music has

840-600: Is today a UNESCO World Heritage Site which preserves the colonial era architectures and facilities. Some notable places on the island include the Gorée Memorial which is a memorial for the slaves, and the House of Slaves which is a museum dedicated to the Atlantic slave trade . Today, the island is also hosting the art scene of the hundreds of local artists who line up their works at the outdoor exhibitions. Some other notable places include Layen Mausoleum which entombs

900-413: Is very centred around the idea of family. This even includes the way that they eat. When it is time to eat a typical meal, someone will say "kay lekk" which means 'come eat'. Everyone will come together and sit around the plate and eat with their hands. Some famous dishes include Cebbu Jën (Tiéboudienne) and Yassa. The etiquette of people in Dakar is very simple but very vital. To not greet someone upon sight

960-478: The Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO) which manages the unified West African CFA franc currency), and to numerous international organizations, NGOs and international research centers. Dakar has a large Lebanese community (concentrated in the import-export sector) that dates to the 1920s, a community of Moroccan businesspeople, as well as Mauritanian, Cape Verdean , and Guinean communities. The city

1020-701: The Senegal Premier League and previously won the 2014–15 Ligue 1 (Senegal) season. Dakar used to be the finishing point of the Dakar Rally until 2007, before the event was moved to South America for the security concerns in Mauritania . Dakar was set to host the 2022 edition of the Youth Summer Olympics , however, the games have been postponed to 2026 , it will be the first Olympic event to ever be held in Africa. The town

1080-532: The " Angra de Bezeguiche " (after the name of the local ruler). The bay of "Bezeguiche" would go on to serve as a critical stop for the Portuguese India Armadas of the early 16th century, where large fleets would routinely stop, both on their outward and return journeys from India, to repair, collect fresh water from the rivulets and wells along the Cap-Vert shore and trade for provisions with

1140-893: The African population out of old neighborhoods, or "Plateau", and into a new quarter, called Médina, separated from it by a "sanitary cordon". As first occupants of the land, the Lebou inhabitants of the city successfully resisted this expropriation. They were supported by Blaise Diagne , the first African to be elected Deputy to the National Assembly. Nonetheless, the Plateau thereafter became an administrative, commercial, and residential district increasingly reserved for Europeans and served as model for similar exclusionary administrative enclaves in French Africa's other colonial capitals (Bamako, Conakry, Abidjan, Brazzaville). Meanwhile,

1200-607: The Axis powers. However, due to delays and the plan becoming known, Dakar had already come under the influence of the German controlled will of the Vichy government . With the arrival of French naval forces under Vichy control and faced by stubborn defences onshore, de Gaulle's proposals were resisted, and the Battle of Dakar ensued off the coast lasting three days 23-25 September 1940, between

1260-538: The General Council of the colony in Saint Louis, being the first African elected to that position. Early in the 20th century the growth of neighboring Dakar, with its superior port facilities, signaled the decline of Rufisque. No longer an active port, Rufisque has experienced steep industrial decline. Relatively neglected compared to rest of Senegal's four historic communes , it has no tourism sector and

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1320-627: The Kingdom of God . Dakar was selected as the Capital of Islamic Culture for African Region for the year 2007 by the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO), honoring its Islamic heritage. ISESCO and its parent organization Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) have held several regional and international conferences in the city, best known for adoption of Dakar Declaration in 1991 which aimed at fostering

1380-562: The Layene Sufi order, established by Seydina Mouhammadou Limamou Laye , was thriving among the Lebou in Yoff and in a new village called Cambérène. Since independence, urbanization has sprawled eastward past Pikine, a commuter suburb whose population (2001 est. 1,200,000) is greater than that of Dakar proper, to Rufisque, creating a conurbation of almost 3 million (over a quarter of the national population). In its colonial heyday Dakar

1440-653: The Lebou Republic, though its institutions continued to function nominally. The Serigne (also spelled Sëriñ, "Lord") of Ndakaaru is still recognized as the traditional political authority of the Lebou by the Senegalese State today. The slave trade was abolished by France in February 1794. However, Napoleon Bonaparte reinstated the slave trade in May 1802. The slave trade continued at Gorée until 1848, when it

1500-580: The Netherlands). The island was to switch hands between the Portuguese and Dutch several more times before falling to the English under Admiral Robert Holmes on January 23, 1664, and finally to the French in 1677. Though under continuous French administration since, métis families, descended from Dutch and French traders and African wives, dominated the slave trade. The infamous " House of Slaves "

1560-680: The Petite Côte ( Saly-Portudal , Joal ) south to the Gambia River . By the 1650s, the Dutch West India Company had consolidated control over the coastal trade and built a fortified factory at Rufisque. In 1840 a couple of Saint Louis merchants built warehouses on the waterfront to stock peanuts . Gorée merchants followed suit. There followed a period of commercial expansion as peanut production in Cayor boomed. In 1859

1620-519: The Thiaroye camp, on the outskirts of the city. The mutiny was seen as an indictment of the colonial system and constituted a watershed for the nationalist movement. On 1 December 1944, French soldiers guarding the camp opened fire on the West African soldiers . Accounts of the death toll range from around 35 (the official French account) to over 300 (army veterans active at the time). Dakar was

1680-594: The Vichy defences and the attack of the Free French and British navy. The enterprise was abandoned after appreciable naval losses. Although the initiative on Dakar failed, General de Gaulle was able to establish himself at Douala in the Cameroons which became the rallying point for the resistance of the Free French cause. In November 1944, West African conscripts in the French army mutinied against poor conditions at

1740-454: The activities of the London boroughs. The 19  communes d'arrondissement belong to either of the four arrondissements of Dakar, and the sous-préfet of each arrondissement is in charge of controlling the activities of the communes d'arrondissement in his arrondissement. The commune d'arrondissement of Dakar-Plateau (34,626 inhabitants), in the arrondissement of Plateau/Gorée, is

1800-424: The activities of the communes within the department. The department of Dakar is divided into four arrondissements : Almadies , Grand Dakar , Parcelles Assainies (which literally means "drained lots"; this is the most populous arrondissement of Dakar), and Plateau/Gorée (downtown Dakar). These arrondissements are quite different from the arrondissements of Paris , being merely local administrative structures of

1860-416: The arrondissement of Plateau/Gorée. Dakar is one of the 14  régions of Senegal . The Dakar région encompasses the city of Dakar and all its suburbs along the Cape Verde Peninsula . Its territory is thus roughly the same as the territory of the metropolitan area of Dakar. Since the administrative reforms of 1996, the régions of Senegal, which until then were merely local administrative structures of

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1920-626: The cape. Dakar , the capital of Senegal, occupies parts including its southern tip. The peninsula marks the border between Grande Côte to the north and Petite Côte to the south. It is delimited by two capes , Pointe des Almadies to the northwest and cap Manuel to the southeast. The larger of the Deux Mamelles volcanic hills in Dakar is topped by Les Mamelles Lighthouse at its highest point. 14°44′41″N 17°31′13″W  /  14.74472°N 17.52028°W  / 14.74472; -17.52028 This Senegal location article

1980-413: The capital of the short-lived Mali Federation from 1959 to 1960, after which it became the capital of Senegal. The poet, philosopher and first President of Senegal Léopold Sédar Senghor tried to transform Dakar into the "Sub-Saharan African Athens" (l'Athènes de l'Afrique subsaharienne), as his vision was for it. Dakar is a major financial centre, home to a dozen national and regional banks (including

2040-519: The central state, have been turned into full-fledged political units, with democratically elected regional councils, and regional presidents. They were given extensive powers, and manage economic development, transportation, or environmental protection issues at the regional level, thus coordinating the actions of the communes below them. The city of Dakar is a member of the Organization of World Heritage Cities and contains several landmarks. One of

2100-564: The central state, like the Senegalese departments , and are thus more comparable to French departmental arrondissements . In 1996, a massive reform of the administrative and political divisions of Senegal was voted by the Parliament of Senegal. The commune of Dakar, whose population approached 1 million inhabitants, was deemed too large and too populated to be properly managed by a central municipality, and thus on August 30, 1996, Dakar

2160-592: The city becomes decidedly hotter with daily highs reaching 29–31 °C (84.2–87.8 °F) and night lows a little bit above 23–25 °C (73.4–77.0 °F). Notwithstanding this hotter season, Dakar's weather is far from being so hot as experienced in inland Sahelian cities like Niamey and N'Djamena , where temperatures hover above 36 °C (96.8 °F) for much of the year. Dakar is cooled year-round by sea breezes. A 2019 paper published in PLOS One estimated that under Representative Concentration Pathway 4.5 ,

2220-452: The city include the medina quarter located in Médina commune. Médina is originally built as a township for local populace during the French colonial-era. Today it is a traditional commercial center packed with tailors' shops. The most notable street market is Soumbédioune, which is also a major tourist attraction. The quarter also houses Dakar Grand Mosque at the heart of the commune, which

2280-405: The commune of Gorée . The commune of Gorée, created in 1872, was itself one of the oldest Western-style municipalities in Africa (along with the municipalities of Algeria and South Africa ). The commune of Dakar has been in continuous existence since 1887, being preserved by the new state of Senegal after independence in 1960, although its limits have varied considerably over time. The limits of

2340-461: The commune of Dakar have been unchanged since 1983. The commune of Dakar is ruled by a democratically elected municipal council ( conseil municipal ) serving five years, and a mayor elected by the municipal council. There have been 20 mayors in Dakar since 1887. The first black mayor was Blaise Diagne , mayor of Dakar from 1924 to 1934. The longest-serving mayor was Mamadou Diop , mayor for 18 years between 1984 and 2002. The commune of Dakar

2400-587: The cooperation between the member states. Dakar is also known as the birthplace of the Layene Brotherhood, a Sufi tariqa founded by Seydina Mouhammadou Limamou Laye in 1883 at the commune of Yoff. Seydina is buried in the Layen Mausoleum which is among the major landmarks of Dakar. Today, Layene Brotherhood is consisted mostly of the Lebou people and based in the Cap-Vert area. It is also

2460-550: The current warming trajectory appears consistent with 2.7 °C (4.9 °F), which closely matches RCP 4.5. Moreover, according to the 2022 IPCC Sixth Assessment Report , Dakar is one of 12 major African cities ( Abidjan , Alexandria , Algiers , Cape Town , Casablanca , Dakar, Dar es Salaam , Durban , Lagos , Lomé , Luanda and Maputo ) which would be the most severely affected by future sea level rise . It estimates that they would collectively sustain cumulative damages of US$ 65 billion under RCP 4.5 and US$ 86.5 billion for

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2520-507: The fastest end-to-end journey will take 45 minutes. The railway is expected to carry 115 000 passengers per day. The TER's first test run launched on 14 January 2019 and the first passenger train ran in December 2021. Blaise Diagne International Airport is the city's international airport; it handles flights by several airlines, including Air France , Delta , Emirates and Emirates Sky Cargo , Iberia , TAP Air Portugal and Turkish , and

2580-630: The founder of the Layene Sufi tariqa, Palais Présidentiel which is the seat of the government constructed in 1907, Place de l'Indépendance which is the central square of Dakar, Dakar Cathedral , and Cheikh Anta Diop University also known as the University of Dakar , which was established in 1957. The most common places of worship in Dakar are Muslim mosques. There are also Christian churches: Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dakar ( Catholic Church ), Assemblies of God , Universal Church of

2640-399: The head of France's West African empire. In 1929, the commune of Gorée Island, now with only a few hundred inhabitants, was merged into Dakar. Urbanization during the colonial period was marked by forms of racial and social segregation—often expressed in terms of health and hygiene—which continue to structure the city today. Following a plague epidemic in 1914, the authorities forced most of

2700-426: The high-emission scenario RCP 8.5 by the year 2050. Additionally, RCP 8.5 combined with the hypothetical impact from marine ice sheet instability at high levels of warming would involve up to US$ 137.5 billion in damages, while the additional accounting for the "low-probability, high-damage events" may increase aggregate risks to US$ 187 billion for the "moderate" RCP4.5, US$ 206 billion for RCP8.5 and US$ 397 billion under

2760-466: The high-end ice sheet instability scenario. Since sea level rise would continue for about 10,000 years under every scenario of climate change, future costs of sea level rise would only increase, especially without adaptation measures. The city of Dakar is a commune (also sometimes known as commune de ville ), one of the 125 communes of Senegal. The commune of Dakar was created by the French colonial administration on 17 June 1887, by detaching it from

2820-461: The historical heart of the city, and most ministries and public administrations are located there. The densest and most populous commune d'arrondissement is Médina (136,697 inhabitants), in the arrondissement of Plateau/Gorée. The commune d'arrondissement of Yoff (55,995 inhabitants), in the arrondissement of Almadies, is the largest one, while the smallest one is the commune d'arrondissement of Île de Gorée (1,034 inhabitants), in

2880-646: The legendary Mermoz airfield (no longer extant). In 1940, Dakar became involved in the Second World War when General de Gaulle , leader of the Free French Forces, sought to make the city the base of his resistance operations. The object was to raise the Free French flag in West Africa, to occupy Dakar and thus start to consolidate the French resistance of its colonies in Africa. The plan had British naval support when fighting alone against

2940-497: The local people for their remaining voyage. (It was famously during one of these stops , in 1501, where the Florentine navigator Amerigo Vespucci began to construct his " New World " hypothesis about America.) The Portuguese eventually founded a settlement on the island of Gorée (then known as the island of Bezeguiche or Palma), which by 1536 they began to use as a base for slave exportation. The mainland of Cap-Vert, however,

3000-483: The mainland area in the 19th century, Dakar grew into a major regional port and a major city of the French colonial empire . In 1902, Dakar replaced Saint-Louis as the capital of French West Africa . From 1959 to 1960, Dakar was the capital of the short-lived Mali Federation . In 1960, it became the capital of the independent Republic of Senegal. Dakar will host the 2026 Summer Youth Olympics . The Cap-Vert peninsula

3060-468: The most notable is Deux Mamelles , twin hills located in Ouakam commune. The hills are the only high ground in the city, providing views of the entire area and sweeping views of the city. The first hill is topped with Mamelles Lighthouse built in 1864. The second hill has the newly completed African Renaissance Monument built on top, which is considered the tallest statue in Africa . Other landmarks of

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3120-570: The third-biggest Sufi order in Senegal. Prominent worshiping sites for Muslims in Dakar include the Grand Mosque of Dakar, built in 1964, which is situated at Allée Pape Gueye Fall of Medina, the Mosque of Divinity , constructed in 1973, situated in Ouakam, with the characteristic triangular windows, and Omarienne Mosque with minarets topped by green orbs. In Senegal , the traditional culture

3180-542: Was allocated by the colonial authorities to Dakar's development. The port facilities were improved with jetties, a telegraph line was established along the coast to Saint-Louis and the Dakar-Saint-Louis railway was completed in 1885, at which point the city became an important base for the conquest of the Western Sudan . Gorée, including Dakar, was recognised as a French commune in 1872. Dakar itself

3240-485: Was built at Gorée in 1776. In 1795, the Lebou of Cape Verde revolted against Cayor rule. A new theocratic state, subsequently called the "Lebou Republic" by the French, was established under the leadership of the Diop, a Muslim clerical family originally from Koki in Cayor. The capital of the republic was established at Ndakaaru. In 1857, the French established a military post at Ndakaaru (which they called "Dakar") and annexed

3300-500: Was divided into 19  communes d'arrondissement . These communes d'arrondissement were given extensive powers and are very much like regular communes. They have more powers than the arrondissements of Paris and are more akin to the London boroughs . The commune of Dakar was maintained above these 19  communes d'arrondissement , and it coordinates the activities of the communes d'arrondissement , much as Greater London coordinates

3360-492: Was finally abolished throughout all French territories. To replace trade in slaves, the French promoted peanut cultivation on the mainland. As the peanut trade boomed, tiny Gorée Island, whose population had grown to 6,000 residents, proved ineffectual as a port. Traders from Gorée decided to move to the mainland and a "factory" with warehouses was established in Rufisque in 1840. Large public expenditure for infrastructure

3420-533: Was one of the major cities of the French Empire, comparable to Hanoi or Beirut . French trading firms established branch offices there and industrial investments (mills, breweries, refineries, canneries) were attracted by its port and rail facilities. It was also strategically important to France, which maintained an important naval base and coaling station in its harbor, and which integrated it into its earliest air force and airmail circuits, most notably with

3480-550: Was settled no later than the 15th century, by the Lebu people , an aquacultural subgroup of the Wolof ethnic group. The original villages—Ouakam, Ngor, Yoff and Hann—still constitute distinctively Lebou neighborhoods of the city today. In 1444, the Portuguese reached the Bay of Dakar. Peaceful contact was finally opened in 1456 by Diogo Gomes , and the bay was subsequently referred to as

3540-592: Was split off from Gorée as a separate commune in 1887. The citizens of the city elected their own mayor and municipal council, and helped send an elected representative to the National Assembly in Paris. Dakar replaced Saint-Louis as the capital of French West Africa in 1902. A second major railroad, the Dakar-Niger built from 1906 to 1923, linked Dakar to Bamako and consolidated the city's position at

3600-627: Was under control of the Jolof Empire , as part of the western province of Cayor which seceded from Jolof in its own right in 1549. A new Lebou village, called Ndakaaru, was established directly across from Gorée in the 17th century to service the European trading factory with food and drinking water. Gorée was captured by the United Netherlands in 1588, which gave it its present name (spelled Goeree , after Goeree-Overflakkee in

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