Yaoundé

Pushpin map	Cameroon
Map caption	Map of Cameroon showing the location of Yaoundé.
Coordinates region	CM
Subdivision type	Province
Subdivision name	Centre Province
Subdivision type1	Department
Subdivision name1	Mfoundi
Elevation m	726
Population as of	2005
Population note	estimated
Population total	1,430,000
Population metro	???
Government delegate	Gilbert Tsimi Evouna
Timezone	CET
Utc offset	+1
Timezone dst	CEST
Utc offset dst	+1

Yaoundé () is the capital of Cameroon and second largest city in the country after Douala. It lies in the centre of the nation at an elevation of about 750 metres (2,500 ft) above sea level.

History

Yaoundé was founded in 1888 by German traders as a base for the ivory trade and an agricultural research station. It was occupied by Belgian troops during World War I. After Germany's defeat, France became the colonial power in eastern Cameroon. Yaoundé became the capital of French Cameroon, and continues today as the capital of the Republic of Cameroon.

Economy

Major industries in Yaoundé include tobacco, dairy products, breweries, clay, glass goods, and lumber. It is also a regional distribution center for coffee, cocoa, copra, sugar cane, and rubber.

Places of interest

The city centre houses government offices, some hotels, and the central market. The Bastos neighbourhood, with most homes owned by Cameroonians, is home to foreign embassies and the expatriate European community (drawn mainly from the diplomatic corps). The presidential palace and compound is in the Etoudi neighborhood.

Also found in Yaoundé are: the Cathédrale Notre Dame des Victoires, seat of the Archdiocese of Yaoundé the Basilique Marie-Reine-des-Apôtres, built on the site of the first missionary church in Cameroon

the Cameroon Art Museum (located in a former Benedictine monastery)

the Cameroon National Museum (located in the former presidential palace)

the Afhemi Museum

the Palais du Sport

There is a small zoo in the Mvog-Betsi neighbourhood. Yaoundé has a small assortment of nightclubs and restaurants.

Transportation

Yaoundé Nsimalen International Airport is a major civilian hub, while nearby Yaoundé Airport is used by the military. Railway lines run west to the port city of Douala and north to N'Gaoundéré. Many bus companies operate from the city, particularly in the Nsam and Mvan neighborhoods. Frequent bus runs occur along the road between Yaoundé and Douala, which has witnessed several fatal accidents. Travel time by road between Douala and Yaounde is approximately 3 hours. Traffic in the city can be heavy during weekdays, but is very light during the weekends.Yaounde has made a great progress in infrastructure especially road construction.

Markets

Mokolo is among the biggest of the numerous markets in the city. Others include Mfoundi. There are also some supermarkets (e.g. "Casino") situated in the city centre.

Sports

The national football (soccer) team plays frequent matches in the Ahmadou Ahidjo (or Omnisport) stadium. Also, the Grand Prix Chantal Biya, which is a men's road bicycle racing event on the UCI Africa Tour starts and finishes in Yaoundé. The Milwaukee Bucks starting small forward, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, was born in Yaoundé in September 1986 as well as Toronto FC midfielder Nane Joseph and former striker Ali Gerba.

Education

For schools, Cameroon is a bilingual country in the Capital many of the schools will teach in French as a first language and English as a second language, but sometimes they will neglect the English language. There are two American schools in Cameroon, the American School of Yaounde (ASOY) and Rain Forest International School (RFIS). Yaoundé is the site of several universities: the University of Yaoundé I, the University of Yaoundé II (on a campus outside of town), the Protestant University of Central Africa (UPAC) and the Catholic University for Central Africa (UCAC). Several of the nation's professional schools are also located in Yaounde (Ecole Normal Superieur for teachers, Ecole Militaire InterArmes du Cameroun) as well as various schools for engineers, nurses and diplomats).

Climate

Yaoundé features a tropical wet and dry climate with constant temperatures throughout the year. However, primarily due to the altitude, temperatures are not quite as hot as one would expect for a city located near the equator. Yaoundé features a lengthy wet season, covering a ten month span between February and November. However, there is a noticeable decrease in precipitation within the wet season, seen during the months of July and August, almost giving the city the appearance of having two separate rainy seasons. It’s primarily due to the relative lull in precipitation during these two months that Yaoundé features a tropical wet and dry climate, as opposed to a tropical monsoon climate.

References

External links

Image of Yaoundé from Google Earth

Category:Capitals in Africa Category:Populated places in Cameroon Category:Centre Region (Cameroon) Category:Provincial capitals in Cameroon Category:Populated places established in 1888

This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.

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photo: Creative Commons

Cameroon's Rigbobert Song gestures with Liberia Goalkeeper during an African Nations Cup qualifying match in Yaounde

photo: AP / Andrew Medichini

Pope Benedict XVI waves to the faithful as he leaves the Cardinal Paul Emile rehabilitation center, in Yaounde , Cameroon, Thursday, March 19, 2009.

photo: AP / Osservatore Romano, POOL

Pope Benedict XVI blesses the faithful as he leaves the Amadou Ahidjo stadium after celebrating a mass, in Yaounde , Cameroon, Thursday, March 19, 2009.

photo: AP / Andrew Medichini

Pope Benedict XVI leaves on his popemobile after he celebrated a Vesper ceremony in the "Marie Reigne des Apotres", basilica, in Yaounde , Cameroon, Wednesday, March 18, 2009.

photo: AP / Rebecca Blackwell

Pope Benedict XVI, left, is welcomed by Cameroon President Paul Biya on arrival at the airport in Yaounde, Cameroon Tuesday, March 17, 2009.

photo: AP / CRTV via APTN

Cameroon President Paul Biya shakes hands with a rescued hostage in Yaounde, Cameroon on Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2008. Oil workers who were taken hostage from a tugboat off the coast of Cameroon last month were freed on Tu

photo: AP / Andrew Medichini

Pope Benedict XVI, centre, seen with Cameroon's President Paul Biya, right, and his wife, Chantal, enter the Unity Presidential Palace in Yaounde for a courtesy visit, Cameroon, Wednesday, March 18, 2009.

photo: AP / Osservatore Romano

A group of Pygmies from Cameroon's Baka tribe perform for Pope Benedict XVI as he leaves the Vatican embassy on his way to the aAngola, in Yaounde, Cameroon, Friday, March 20, 2009. Pope Benedict XVI is in Africa for a seven-day visit that will take him to Cameroon and Angola.

photo: WN / Doris Esange

Bafaw meeting members are so excited to see each other on this joit come together in Limbe Cameroon.

photo: AP / Rebecca Blackwell

Pope Benedict XVI waves to the faithful as he leaves following a special mass at the Amadou Ahidjo stadium, in Yaounde, Cameroon. The Vatican on Friday, April 17, 2009 says some negative reactions to the pope's comments about condoms and AIDS during a trip to Africa were an "unprecedented'' attempt to intimidate him. Pope Benedict XVI said last month that condoms weren't the answer to Africa's AIDS epidemic and could make the problem worse.

photo: AP/Xinhua, Li Xueren

In this photo released by China´s Xinhua news agency, Chinese President Hu Jintao, center left, waves to the crowd at a grand welcoming ceremony held by his Cameroonian counterpart Paul Biya, center right, in Yaounde, capital of Cameroon, Wednesday