Ouakam
| Ouakam | |
|---|---|
| Commune d'arrondissement | |
 | |
 | |
| Country |
 Senegal |
| Region | Dakar Region |
| Department | Dakar Department |
| Population (2007) | |
| • Total | 48,595 |
| Time zone | GMT (UTC+0) |
Ouakam is a commune d'arrondissement in the city of Dakar, Senegal. The commune is the birthplace of French politicians Ségolène Royal and Rama Yade and Senegalese writer and politician Birago Diop.
Description
Ouakam is an ancient village that has been absorbed as a residential suburb of Dakar. It is situated on the Atlantic coast at the foot of a range of hills, the Deux Mamelles, Ouakam has two beaches, one of which is popular among surfers.
According to the 2002 census, the commune of Ouakam comprised 43,188 people. At the end of 2007, according to official estimates, the population had grown to 48,595 inhabitants.
The Mosque of the Divine was built by Mohamed Gorgui Seyni Guèye (1926–2007), a holy man who claimed to see the mosque in a dream. He followed the dream to the beach on June 28, 1973, where he received an order from the Lord to build it. The African Renaissance Monument was constructed on one of the Deux Mamelles hills in Ouakam and was unveiled on April 4, 2010.
Economy
The village of Ouakam is home to the Lebou people, many of whom are fishermen. In the colonial era, Senegalese riflemen were garrisoned at Ouakam, while today the community is home to several military encampments such as the National Military Academy, a French Army air base, and a Senegalese Air Force base. Ouakam is also a tourist center, especially with the construction of the new Monument to the African Renaissance.
Famous individuals born in Ouakam
- Mouhamed Gorgui Seyni Gueye, builder of the Madjidoul Rabani Mosque near the beach
- Birago Diop, writer
- Ségolène Royal, French politician, was born on the military base at Ouakam where her father, Jacques Royal, was an artillery colonel
- Rama Yade, French politician and Secretary of State for Sports
Sources
- (English) C. T. Mbengue, An Introduction to the Traditional Villages of Yoff, Ngor and Ouakam, in R. Register and B. Peeks (under the direction of), Village wisdom, future cities, 1996, Third international conference Écoville-Écovillage (Yoff, Sénégal), Ecocity Builders, Oakland, California, pp. 82–85
- (French) Germaine Françoise Bocandé, L’implantation militaire française dans la région du Cap-Vert : causes, problèmes et conséquences des origines à 1900, Dakar, University of Dakar, 1980, 112 p. (Masters Thesis)
See also
External links
- (English) Maps, weather and airports for Ouakam
- (French) « La vague de Ouakam » (short video of Bertil Willotte online)
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Coordinates: 14°43′26″N 17°29′21″W / 14.72389°N 17.48917°W