Tuesday, February 2, 2016

Burkina Faso

Burkina Faso is a west-African landlocked country of about 274,000 square kilometers and a population of a whopping 17 million plus. French is its official language. You might recognize its former name, Republic of Upper Volta and remember that it won independence from France in 1960.

Location of  Burkina Faso  (dark blue)– in Africa  (light blue & dark grey)– in the African Union  (light blue)  –  [Legend]

Since then, it has been an area of political instability, with more than one coup d'état and just recently, on Jan. 16, 2016, in the capital city of Ouagadougou, there was a jihadist attack at a luxury hotel, with many deaths and injuries. 

I would have to say that this tiny country of Burkina Faso is just about the end of the earth for me. I will probably never travel there. So when an amazing photo of painted walls in Burkina Faso arrived in my Twitter feed, I wanted to share it. I almost wish I could visit Burkina Faso, just to have an excuse to say Ouagadougou in everyday conversation. 

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Let's hope that this tiny country can hang on to its valuable cultural assets and traditions through any future upheavals. 

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