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Bobo Dioulasso




Bobo-Dioulasso is a city of about 600,000, the second biggest in Burkina Faso after Ouagadougou , the nation's capital. The name means literally, "home of the Jula -speaking Bobo ," which is the dominant Ethnic Group in the region of the city. The city is situated in the southwest of the country, in the Houet Province , some 350 km from Ouagadougou . It is significant both economically (agricultural trade, Textile industry) and culturally (Bobo is the center of Culture and Music Of Burkina Faso ).

Jula, a trade language, is the Lingua Franca of Bobo and surrounding region of western Burkina Faso. It is a derivative of Bamana , a dominant language of neighboring Mali . Bobo-Dioulasso is ethnically and linguistically very diverse, due to its position as an ancient crossroads of several trans- Sahara n trade routes, so most Jula speakers in the region are not actually Jula themselves.

Lying on the Houët River , ''Bobo'' was founded as ''Sya'' in the Fifteenth Century . The city was occupied by the French in 1897 , after which it grew around the Abidjan –Ouagadougou Railway .

The city features the Bobo-Dioulasso Old Mosque (built in 1880 ), the fifteenth century Konsa house, and a sacred Fish Pond . There is also a Museum , a Zoo , and a Pottery Market .


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