N'Djamena
12°6′43″N 15°2′6″E / 12.11194°N 15.03500°E
N'Djamena | |
|---|---|
 Coat of arms | |
 | |
| Country | Chad |
| Region | N'Djamena |
| Founded | May 22, 1900 |
| Renamed | April 6, 1973 |
| Population (2005) | |
| • Total | 721,000 |
| Time zone | UTC+1 |
N'Djamena is the capital of Chad. It is the largest city in the country. The city is a port on the Chari River. N'Djamena is also a special statute region. It is a regional market for livestock, salt, dates, and grains. Meat processing is the main industry. N'Djamena has a population of 721,000 people.
Attractions in the city include the Chad National Museum, a cathedral and several mosques. Religiously the city is very mixed, although many of the people there are Islamic . N'Djamena has a university, schools of administration and veterinary medicine, and the American International School of N'Djamena. N'Djamena International Airport is located just outside the city.
History
[change | change source]N'Djamena was founded as Fort-Lamy by the French commander Émile Gentil on May 29, 1900. It was named after Amédée-François Lamy. He was an army officer who had been killed in the Battle of Kousséri a few days earlier. The name was changed to N'Djamena (taken from the Arab name Niǧāmīnā, meaning "place of rest") by the President François Tombalbaye on April 6, 1973.
The city was badly damaged during the Chadian Civil War, in 1979 and again in 1980. On April 13, 2006, the United Front for Democratic Change attacked the city but the attack failed.[1]
References
[change | change source]- ↑ Chad confronts rebels in capital BBC.co.uk April 13, 2006
Other websites
[change | change source]- Map of N'Djamena Archived 2006-06-27 at the Wayback Machine
