BY DUANE WELLS
DO YOU KNOW THE WAY TO LOMÉ?
Togo’ s capital city is one of West Africa’ s best-kept secrets. It offers visitors an energetic mix of coastal charm, lively markets, sacred traditions, and deep cultural roots. From the textile empires of the legendary Nana Benz to the spiritual offerings of the Akodessewa Fetish Market, Lomé provides an experience that’ s as authentic as it is rare. Ethiopian Airlines operates nonstop flights from Washington Dulles International Airport( IAD) to Lomé – Tokoin International Airport, also known as Gnassingbé Eyadéma International Airport( LFW), between two to four times a week. This cultural gem is within your reach.
Do you know how to get to Lomé? It’ s a simple question, but ask a
dozen experienced travelers, and you’ ll probably get a dozen confused looks. Most people have never heard of this West African treasure, which is entirely their loss.
Lomé, the culture-rich capital of Togo, offers a vibrant blend of West African energy, colorful chaos, coastal charm, and relentless commerce. Add in the city’ s rich mixture of sacred sites, local traditions, lively markets, diverse culture, and a strong presence of Vodun( also known as Voodoo), and you get a feast for the senses, the heart, and the soul— something rarely found in other destinations worldwide.
Let’ s start with the local markets, where commerce and spectacle blend to create a truly immersive atmosphere. Of course, the buying and selling of goods is expected, but in markets across Lomé, there’ s also an almost frenzied energy as vendors call out their wares in a lively mix of French, Ewe, and other local languages. This creates a vibrant soundtrack punctuated by bursts of laughter and animated conversations. This is especially true at the Grand Marché, or Assigamé, the city’ s heartbeat— a sprawling maze where friendly vendors sell everything from colorful textiles and handmade crafts to fresh produce and electronics. Bargaining is common and often becomes a fun, amusing side attraction.
Speaking of shows, if the markets are a stage, the legendary Nana Benz are the stars. Revered for their business savvy, financial expertise, and impeccable style( as well as the Mercedes-Benz cars they prefer to drive— hence the nickname“ Nana Benz”), these doyennes of Togo’ s textile trade have played a significant role in shaping the city’ s economy and social landscape since the mid-20th century. Along the way, they built dynasties and turned Lomé into a hub for West African fashion, wielding economic influence that extended far beyond Togo’ s borders.
Today, their legacy lives on in the market’ s textile stalls, where their descendants hold prominent positions. They can be heard confidently haggling as they sell the vibrant kente and multicolored wax print fabrics that brought their ancestors unprecedented success and empowered women’ s entrepreneurship in a male-dominated society.
An entirely different experience awaits at the Akodessewa Fetish Market( Marché des Féticheurs)— a marketplace unlike any bazaar most Western tourists have ever encountered, to be sure. Recognized as the world’ s largest voodoo market, Akodessewa serves as a gathering place where practitioners of Vodun and other indigenous religions buy and sell items of deep ritual significance.
Here, display tables overflow with crocodile skulls, monkey paws, and dried chameleons alongside hand-carved statuettes, ancestral masks, talismans, herbs, and animal bones, while Bokonon— local priests and priestesses— guide visitors through the spiritual uses of these sacred objects to provide protection, healing, or connection to the spirit world.
Visiting this market is not for the faint of heart or the unimaginative, but it provides an important window into West Africa’ s rich spiritual heritage. In a culture where Vodun( Voodoo) has been practiced for thousands of years and still claims about one-third of the population as followers, Akodessewa serves as a living connection to ancestral traditions that spread throughout the African diaspora.
Beyond the markets, Lomé’ s unique cultural identity is also preserved and celebrated at the National Museum of Togo. Located within the diplomatic enclave, the museum provides essential context for understanding how traditions and history shape everyday life in Lomé. The museum’ s collections feature traditional Togolese art, including wooden sculptures, masks, musical instruments, pottery, and historical artifacts, offering insight into the diverse ethnic groups that define the country. It also provides a chronological journey through Togolese history, from its early kingdoms to the colonial era and eventual independence.
However, museums only tell part of the story.
To fully understand Lomé’ s heritage, explore beyond the city to Togoville, a town where colonial history and ancestral traditions come together. Located across Lake Togo, Togoville is easiest to reach by pirogue— a wooden boat used by locals. A peaceful journey across the lake ends at a charming village that offers a true mix of colonial
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