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Banjul
City
King Fahd Mosque and surroundings
Banjul Location of Banjul in the Gambia Show map of The Gambia Banjul Banjul (Africa) Show map of Africa
Coordinates: 13°27′11″N 16°34′39″W / 13.45306°N 16.57750°W / 13.45306; -16.57750Coordinates: 13°27′11″N 16°34′39″W / 13.45306°N 16.57750°W / 13.45306; -16.57750
Country	The Gambia
Division	Banjul
Founded	1816
Government
• Mayor	Rohey Malick Lowe
Area
• City	12 km2 (5 sq mi)
• Urban	93 km2 (36 sq mi)
Elevation	0 m (0 ft)
Population (2013 census)
• City	31,301
• Density	2,600/km2 (6,800/sq mi)
• Urban	413,397
• Urban density	4,400/km2 (12,000/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+0 (GMT)
HDI (2017)	0.552[1] medium

Banjul, officially the City of Banjul and formerly known as Bathurst, is the capital of The Gambia and is in a division of the same name. Banjul is on St Mary's Island (Banjul Island), where the Gambia River enters the Atlantic Ocean. The population of the city proper is 31,301, with the Greater Banjul Area, which includes the City of Banjul and the Kanifing Municipal Council, at a population of 413,397 (2013 census).^[2] The island is connected to the mainland to the west and the rest of Greater Banjul Area via bridges. There are also ferries linking Banjul to the mainland at the other side of the river.

Toponymy

Banjul takes its name from the Mandé people who gathered specific fibres on the island, which were used in the manufacture of ropes. Bang julo is the Mandinka (Mande) word for rope fibre. The mispronunciation led to the word Banjul.^{[citation needed]}

History

Arch 22 at the entrance to Banjul. The statue of the former president was removed following democratic elections in 2016.

In 1651 Banjul was leased by The Duke of Courland and Semigallia (German: Herzog von Kurland und Semgallen) from the King of Kombo, as part of the Couronian colonization.^[3]

On 23 April 1816, the King of Kombo ceded Banjul Island to Alexander Grant, the British commandant. Grant founded Banjul as a trading post and base, constructing houses and barracks for controlling entrance to the Gambia estuary and suppressing the slave trade.^[4] The British renamed Banjul Island as St. Mary's Island and named the new town Bathurst, after the 3rd Earl Bathurst, Secretary of State for War and the Colonies at the time. Streets were laid out in a modified grid pattern, and named after Allied generals at the Battle of Waterloo. The town became the centre of British activity in the Gambia Colony and Protectorate.^[5]

After independence, the town's name was changed to Banjul in 1973.^[4] On 22 July 1994, Banjul was the scene of a bloodless military coup d'état in which President Dawda Jawara was overthrown and replaced by Yahya Jammeh. To commemorate this event, Arch 22 was built as an entrance portal to the capital. The gate is 35 metres tall and stands at the centre of an open square. It houses a textile museum.

Attractions in the city include the Gambian National Museum, the Albert Market, Banjul State House, Banjul Court House, African Heritage Museum, two cathedrals and several major mosques.^[6]

Banjul is the destination of the Plymouth-Banjul Challenge, a charity road rally.

Economy

Banjul is the country's economic and administrative centre and includes the Central Bank of the Gambia. Peanut processing is the country's principal industry, but beeswax, palm wood, palm oil, and skins and hides are also shipped from the port of Banjul.^[7]

Banjul is also the home of the Gambia Technical Training Institute. GTTI is currently engaged in a partnership with non-profit organization Power Up Gambia to develop a solar energy training program.

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  Albert Market
  

  
  

  
  


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  A street in Banjul
  

  
  

  
  


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  View of Banjul from the International Space Station
  

  
  

  
  

Climate

Banjul has a very warm climate year round. Under the Köppen climate classification, Banjul features a tropical wet and dry climate. The city features a lengthy dry season, spanning from November to June and a relatively short wet season covering the remaining four months. However, during those four months, Banjul tends to see heavy precipitation. August is usually the rainiest month, with on average 500 mm of precipitation falling. Temperatures are somewhat constant, though it tends to be slightly cooler during the wet season than the dry season.

According to a Gambian government minister, Banjul is at risk of submerging under water by a metre rise in sea levels as a result of climate change and global warming.^[8]

Transport

Banjul ferry

The primary method reaching the city by land is by roadway. A highway connects Banjul to Serrekunda which crosses the Denton Bridge, however ferries provide another mode of transportation.^[11] As of May 2014, ferries sail regularly from Banjul across the River Gambia to Barra.^[12] The city is served by the Banjul International Airport. Banjul is on the Trans–West African Coastal Highway connecting it to Dakar and Bissau, and will eventually provide a paved highway link to 11 other nations of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

Districts

Districts of Banjul

Banjul Division (Greater Banjul Area) is divided into two districts:

• Banjul


• Kanifing

Education

International schools:

• Banjul American Embassy School


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  École Française de Banjul in Bakau.^[13]
  


• Marina International School

See also

• Divisions of the Gambia


• Districts of the Gambia

References

Bibliography

• 
  Pierre Gomez; Hassoum Ceesay, eds. (2018). A Geocritical Representation of Banjul (Bathurst): 1816-2016. Global Hands Publishing.
  


• Matthew James Park, Heart of Banjul: The History of Banjul, The Gambia, 1816-1965. PhD dissertation, Michigan State University, 2016.


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  Paul Tiyambe Zeleza; Dickson Eyoh, eds. (2003). "Banjul, Gambia". Encyclopedia of Twentieth-Century African History. Routledge. ISBN 0415234794.
  

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Banjul.

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Banjul.

• Access Gambia - Hotels, News, Travel & Photos