By telling us your country of residence we are able to provide you with the most relevant travel insurance information.
Please note that not all content is translated or available to residents of all countries. Contact us for full details.
Shares
The sound of the bus horn was so loud that it woke me up suddenly, which made laugh Aisha, this holidaymaker with the model look, who had managed to convince me in the space of one evening to follow her in a roadtrip the next morning towards in Yamoussoukro, capital of Côte d'Ivoire, my Country. It was my first time to visit Yamoussoukro. It’s certainly the capital, but like many people of my generation, I was born in Abidjan, which is the "other capital" of the country. So It was therefore the perfect opportunity for me to see the mythical signs that house this city, very cherished by the first president of our history, Mr Felix Houphouet Boigny, main craftsman of the world showcase that now represents Yamoussoukro. Our first destination was the famous Basilica « Notre dame de la paix ». Once in the city, we got to the basilica in one of the taxis, commonly known as "woro woro", a word straight out of the Ivorian jargon. Being in the interior of this courtyard plunged me into a space-time journey. It looked like I was inside one of these mythical Greek or Roman cities in our story books.Its dome is surmounted by a solid gold cross,and the pillars that support the building are so wide. "Hello gentlemen, are you there for a visit?" Here are the tickets! " The security guard told me that I hadn't even noticed. A handful of minutes' walk separated the entrance from the courtyard to that of the temple. So we had time to take some photos. Once inside the guide asked us to join the visitor group cause the guided tour was about to start. I hadn't felt this before. The energy which is released there is so liturgical that I automatically perceived the sacred dimension of the place in which I had just entered. I learned so much information that day ... Imagine that this basilica is the largest Christian religious building in the world, almost one hundred and fifty meters (recognized by the Guinness Book of Records), which extends over more than one hundred and thirty hectares, with eighteen thousand seats including seven thousand seated Felix Houphouet Boigny had it built only in three years ( from eighty six to eighty nine). The works were entrusted to the architects Pierre Fakhoury and Patrick d'Hauthuille after a very selective competition. It’s was blessed by Saint Jean Paul II on September ten, ninety. It should also be noted that almost four thousand five hundred workers worked on this site. And to top it all, it is forbidden to film the interior of the Basilica without prior authorization. You just had to observe, contemplate this incredible Architecture. Underground stairs, a giant roof, which makes you dizzy ... I listened to the guide while trying to unravel each mystery of this place which was really out of the ordinary in particular the presence of The Face Of Felix Houphouet Boigny among the faces of biblical characters on one of the murals