Bamenda
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Bamenda also popularly known to its inhabitants as Abakwa, is a city in northwestern Cameroon and capital of the North West Province. The city, also known as Mankon Town is an amalgamation of three villages - Mankon, Mendakwe and Nkwen. The city has an estimated 446,000 inhabitants. Located 366 km (227 mi) northwest of the Cameroonian capital, Yaoundé, Bamenda is known for its cool climate and scenic hilly location.
With air (not in service for several years) and road links to Yaoundé and Douala, the city has numerous markets, banks, offices, coffee processing facilities and an important Baptist mission. The local museum and shops display a wide variety of local baskets, beads, wood carving|woodcarvings and bronze statues.
To the north of Bamenda is the Ring Road, a 367 km (228 mi) circular route through Cameroon's most spectacular mountains. Along this road is Mount Oku (3,000 m/9,800 ft), the Kimbi River Game Reserve, the Menchum River waterfalls, a huge chief's palace at Bafut, and a pyramidal thatched shrine at Akum (also known as Bagangu). There are also interesting cultural sites that could be visited such as the Mankon Fon's (Chief's) Palace with its newly constructed [Cultural/History Museum][1], and the Bali Fon's palace with its ancient architechtural structures. The mountainous nature of the terrain with wonderful topographical sites contributes to the beauty of the region. The mountain Sabga (hill) is just an example from which one can get a fantastic view of the Ndop plains.
Bamenda is considered as the political heart beat of Cameroon for it is the cradle of political pluralism in Cameroon and the seat of the largest opposition political party the Social Democratic Front (SDF).
[edit] History
Bamenda's principal ethnic group is the Tikar. In the past, the Tikar faced invasions from peoples in the surrounding hills, and between 1700 and 1800, they joined a confederation established by the Mbum for defense purposes.
Bamenda was subjected to German colonialism in the late 19th century. After the defeat of the Germans in World War I (1914-1918) the league of Nations shared German colonial territories among victorious nations. Western Cameroon, was administered jointly with Nigeria under the protectorate of the British until 1961 when following a plebiscite (today condemned and contested by an Anglophone Cameroon political pressure group to have been foul - the Southern Cameroons National Council (SCNC) attained independence by joining then the already independent République du Cameroun. Evidence of Germany's former occupation of Bamenda can still be seen today in structures such as the Fort at the Bamenda station. In 1986, a gaseous eruption of carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide caused 2,000 deaths around nearby Lake Nyos.
Today, many of the city's inhabitants are English-speaking. English and Cameroonian Pidgin English are the main languages spoken in the shops and on the streets of Bamenda.
