Bongor

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Bongor, Chad
Chad locator map
Map of Chad with Bongor emphasized
Coordinates: 10°16′50″N, 15°22′20″E

Bongor is a city in Chad, the capital of the region of Mayo-Kebbi Est. It has a population of 20,448 (as of 1993).

Bongor is located on the eastern bank of the Logone River. During the rainy season (May-September), the Logone is navigable between Bongor and N'Djamena, Chad's capital.

Bongor was a part of German Cameroon until the 1911 German-French Treaty. In 1904 near Bongor a military station was founded by German colonial officer Herbert Kund, which was the beginning of the city's modern history.

Bongor has been an important center of secondary education since colonial times. The Lycée Jacques Modeina is located there and many of the future leaders of the nations that became independent after the dissolution of the colony of French Equatorial Africa attended the Lycée. The primary indigenous tribal group are the Massa. Bongor has a lively central market square, an airport, a post office, a hospital, and the administrative offices for the Mayo-Kebbi Prefecture. Cotton and rice are the primary cash crops of the region. There is one hotel on the bank of the Logone. The principal market day is Monday and people come from the entire region for the weekly market.