Dakar Ville de Dakar
—  City  —
Dakar urban area
Coat of arms
City of Dakar, divided into 19 communes d'arrondissement
Dakar Location within Senegal
Coordinates: 14°41′34″N 17°26′48″W / 14.69278°N 17.44667°W / 14.69278; -17.44667Coordinates: 14°41′34″N 17°26′48″W / 14.69278°N 17.44667°W / 14.69278; -17.44667
Country	Senegal
Région	Dakar
Département	Dakar
Settled	15th century
Communes d'arrondissement	19 Cambérène Parcelles Assaines Pattie d'Oies Hann Bel-Air Dieuppeul Derklé HLM Biscuiterie Grand Dakar Plateau Médina Fass-Gueule Tapée-Colobane Fann Point-E Mermoz-Sacré-Coeur Ouakam Yoff Ngor Liberté Grand-Yoff Cape Verde Peninsula
Government
• Mayor	Khalifa Sall (2009)[1] (BSS/PS)
• Regional president	Abdoulaye Wade (since 2002)
Area[2]
• City	82.38 km2 (31.81 sq mi)
• Metro	547 km2 (211 sq mi)
Population (31 December 2005 estimate)[3]
• City	1,030,594
• Density	12,510/km2 (32,400/sq mi)
• Metro	2,452,656
• Metro density	4,484/km2 (11,610/sq mi)
	Data here are for the administrative Dakar région, which matches almost exactly the limits of the metropolitan area
Time zone	GMT (UTC+0)
Website	http://www.villededakar.org/

View of Dakar from Earth Orbit

Dakar is the capital city and largest city of Senegal. It is located on the Cap-Vert Peninsula on the Atlantic coast and is the westernmost city on the African mainland. Its position, on the western edge of Africa, is an advantageous departure point for trans-Atlantic and European trade; this fact aided its growth into a major regional port.

According to December 31, 2005 official estimates, the city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar metropolitan area is estimated at 2.45 million people.^[3]

Dakar is a major administrative centre, home to the National Assembly of Senegal and Senegal's President's Palace.

History[link]

Dakar in 1850.

Dakar in 1888.

The Cape Verde Peninsula was settled, no later than the 15th century, by the Lebou, an ethnic group related to the neighboring Wolof and Sereer. The original villages: Ouakam, Ngor, Yoff and Hann, still constitute distinctively Lebou neighborhoods of the city today. Meanwhile, in 1444, the Portuguese arrived on the island of Gorée and founded a settlement there. By 1536, they had begun using it as a base for the export of slaves. The mainland of Cap-Vert, however, was under control of the Jolof Empire, as part of the western province of Cayor which seceded from Jolof in its own right in 1549. A new Lebou village, called Ndakaaru, was established directly across from Gorée in the 17th century to service the European trading factory with food and drinking water. Gorée was captured by the United Netherlands in 1588, which gave it its present name (spelled Goeree, after Goeree-Overflakkee in Holland). The island was to switch hands between the Portuguese and Dutch several more times before falling to the English under Admiral Robert Holmes on January 23, 1664, and finally to the French in 1677. Though under continuous French administration since, Métis families, descendant from Dutch and French traders and African wives, dominated the slave trade. The infamous "House of Slaves" was built here in 1776.

In 1795 the Lebou of Cape Verde revolted against Cayor rule. A new theocratic state, subsequently called the "Lebou Republic" by the French, was established under the leadership of the Diop, a Muslim clerical family originally from Koki in Cayor. The capital of the republic was established at Ndakaaru. In 1857 the French established a military post at Ndakaaru (which they called "Dakar") and annexed the Lebou Republic, though its institutions continued to function nominally. The Serigne (also spelled Sëriñ, "Lord") of Ndakaaru is still recognized as the traditional political authority of the Lebou by the Senegalese State today.

The slave trade was abolished by France in February 1794. However, Napoleon reinstated it in May 1802, then finally abolished it permanently in March 1815. Despite Napoleon's abolition, a clandestine slave trade continued at Gorée until 1848, when it was abolished throughout all French territories. To replace trade in slaves, the French promoted peanut cultivation on the mainland. As the peanut trade boomed, tiny Gorée Island, whose population had grown to 6,000 residents, proved ineffectual as a port. Traders from Gorée decided to move to the mainland and a "factory" with warehouses was established in Rufisque in 1840.

Large public expenditure for infrastructure was allocated by the colonial authorities to Dakar's development. The port facilities were improved with jetties, a telegraph line was established along the coast to Saint-Louis and the Dakar-Saint-Louis railway was completed in 1885, at which point the city became an important base for the conquest of the western Sudan.

Gorée, including Dakar, was recognised as a French commune in 1872. Dakar itself was split off from Gorée as a separate commune in 1887. The citizens of the city elected their own mayor and municipal council and helped send an elected representative to the National Assembly in Paris. Dakar replaced Saint-Louis as the capital of French West Africa in 1902. A second major railroad, the Dakar-Niger built from 1906–1923, linked Dakar to Bamako and consolidated the city's position at the head of France's West African empire. In 1929, the commune of Gorée Island, now with only a few hundred inhabitants, was merged into Dakar.

Urbanization during the colonial period was marked by forms of racial and social segregation—often expressed in terms of health and hygiene—which continue to structure the city today. Following a plague epidemic in 1914, the authorities forced most of the African population out of old neighborhoods, or "Plateau", and into a new quarter, called Médina, separated from it by a "sanitary cordon". As first occupants of the land, the Lebou inhabitants of the city successfully resisted this expropriation. They were supported by Blaise Diagne, the first African to be elected Deputy to the National Assembly. Nonetheless, the Plateau thereafter became an administrative, commercial, and residential district increasingly reserved for Europeans and served as model for similar exclusionary administrative enclaves in French Africa's other colonial capitals (Bamako, Conakry, Abidjan, Brazzaville). Meanwhile, the Layene Sufi order, established by Seydina Mouhammadou Limamou Laye, was thriving among the Lebou in Yoff and in a new village called Cambérène. Since independence, urbanization has sprawled eastward past Pikine, a commuter suburb whose population (2001 est. 1,200,000) is greater than that of Dakar proper, to Rufisque, creating a conurbation of almost 3 million (over a quarter of the national population).

In its colonial heyday Dakar was one of the major cities of the French Empire, comparable to Hanoi or Beirut. French trading firms established branch offices there and industrial investments (mills, breweries, refineries, canneries) were attracted by its port and rail facilities. It was also strategically important to France, which maintained an important naval base and coaling station in its harbor and which integrated it into its earliest air force and airmail circuits, most notably with the legendary Mermoz airfield (no longer extant).

During the Battle of Dakar, which took place off the coast of Dakar on September 23–25, 1940, the British navy attempted to rally the colonial administration in Dakar to the Allied cause and detach it from Vichy. In November 1944 West African conscripts of the French army mutinied against poor conditions at the Thiaroye camp, on the outskirts of the city. The mutiny was seen as an indictment of the colonial system and constituted a watershed for the nationalist movement.

Dakar was the capital of the short-lived Mali Federation from 1959 to 1960, after which it became the capital of Senegal. The poet, philosopher and first President of Senegal Léopold Sédar Senghor tried to transform Dakar into the "Sub-Saharan African Athens" (l’Athènes de l’Afrique subsaharienne),^[4] as his vision was for it.

Dakar is a major financial center, home to a dozen national and regional banks (including the BCEAO which manages the unified West African CFA currency), and to numerous international organizations, NGOs and international research centers. Dakar has a large Lebanese community (concentrated in the import-export sector) that dates to the 1920s, a community of Moroccan business people, as well as Mauritanian, Cape Verdean, and Guinean communities. The city is home to as many as 20,000 French expatriates. France still maintains an air force base at Yoff and the French fleet is serviced in Dakar's port.

Beginning 1978, Dakar has frequently been the ending point of the Dakar Rally. The rally has brought worldwide attention to the poverty of Senegal and Dakar.^{[citation needed]}

Geography and climate[link]

The Dakarian climate is generally warm. Dakar has semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification BSh), with a short rainy season and a lengthy dry season. Dakar's rainy season lasts from July to October while the dry season covers the remaining eight months. The city sees approximately 495 mm of precipitation per year.

Dakar between December and May is usually pleasantly warm with daily temperatures around 24-27 degrees. Nights during this time of the year are comfortable, some 17-20 degrees. However, between May and November the city becomes decidedly warmer with daily highs reaching 29-31 degrees and night lows a little bit above 23-24 degrees. Notwithstanding this hotter season Dakar's weather is far from being as hot as that of African cities inland, such as Niamey and N'Djamena, where temperatures hover above 36 degrees for much of the year. It has presumably the best climate settings in all western Africa, as it is cooled year-round with sea breezes.

Administration[link]

Market street in the working class Gueule Tapée quarter

The city of Dakar is a commune, (also sometimes known as commune de ville), one of the 67 communes of Senegal. The commune of Dakar was created by the French colonial administration on June 17, 1887 by detaching it from the commune of Gorée. The commune of Gorée, created in 1872, was itself one of the oldest Western-style municipalities in Africa (along with the municipalities of Algeria and South Africa).

The commune of Dakar has been in continuous existence since 1887, being preserved by the new state of Senegal after independence in 1960, although its limits have varied considerably over time. The limits of the commune of Dakar have been unchanged since 1983. The commune of Dakar is ruled by a democratically elected municipal council (conseil municipal) serving five years, and a mayor elected by the municipal council. There have been 20 mayors in Dakar since 1887. The first black mayor was Blaise Diagne, mayor of Dakar from 1924 to 1934. The longest serving mayor was Mamadou Diop, mayor for 18 years between 1984 and 2002.

The commune of Dakar is also a département, one of the 34 départements of Senegal. This situation is quite similar to Paris, which is both a commune and a département. However, contrary to French départements, départements in Senegal have no political power (no departmental assembly), and are merely local administrative structures of the central state, in charge of carrying out some administrative services as well as controlling the activities of the communes within the département.

The département of Dakar is divided into four arrondissements: Almadies, Grand Dakar, Parcelles Assainies (which literally means "drained lots"; this is the most populous arrondissement of Dakar), and Plateau/Gorée (downtown Dakar). These arrondissements are quite different from the arrondissements of Paris, being merely local administrative structures of the central state, like the Senegalese départements, and are thus more comparable to French departmental arrondissements.

Residential street in the upscale Mermoz quarter

The Assemblée nationale on the Plateau, the heart of old Dakar

In 1996 a massive reform of the administrative and political divisions of Senegal was voted by the Parliament of Senegal. The commune of Dakar, whose population approached 1 million inhabitants, was deemed too large and too populated to be properly managed by a central municipality, and thus on August 30, 1996 Dakar was divided into 19 communes d'arrondissement. These communes d'arrondissement were given extensive powers, and are very much like regular communes. They have more powers than the arrondissements of Paris, and are more akin to the London boroughs. The commune of Dakar was maintained above these 19 communes d'arrondissement, and it coordinates the activities of the communes d'arrondissement, much as Greater London coordinates the activities of the London boroughs. The 19 communes d'arrondissement belong to either of the four arrondissements of Dakar, and the sous-préfet of each arrondissement is in charge of controlling the activities of the communes d'arrondissement in his arrondissement.

The commune d'arrondissement of Dakar-Plateau (34,626 inhabitants), in the arrondissement of Plateau/Gorée, is the historical heart of the city, and most ministries and public administrations are located there. The densest and most populous commune d'arrondissement is Médina (136,697 inhabitants), in the arrondissement of Plateau/Gorée. The commune d'arrondissement of Yoff (55,995 inhabitants), in the arrondissement of Almadies, is the largest one, while the smallest one is the commune d'arrondissement of Île de Gorée (1,034 inhabitants), in the arrondissement of Plateau/Gorée.

Dakar is one of the 11 régions of Senegal. The Dakar région encompasses the city of Dakar and all its suburbs along the Cape Verde Peninsula. Its territory is thus roughly the same as the territory of the metropolitan area of Dakar. Since the administrative reforms of 1996, the régions of Senegal, which until then were merely local administrative structures of the central state, have been turned into full-fledged political units, with democratically elected regional councils, and regional presidents. They were given extensive powers, and manage economic development, transportation, or environmental protection issues at the regional level, thus coordinating the actions of the communes below them.

Abdoulaye Wade was re-elected in 2007.

Notable places[link]

The Dakar Railway Station

The Dakar Cathedral

Attractions in Dakar include major markets, Dakar Grand Mosque (built in 1964), Dakar Cathedral, Gorée Island, the IFAN Museum of West African culture, the newly completed African Renaissance Monument, clifftop walks and beaches, and Hann Park, home to Senegal Zoo.

The town serves as a port and is home to the Léopold Sédar Senghor International Airport. It is also the terminus of the Dakar-Niger railroad line.

Dakar used to be the finishing point of the Dakar Rally and is a member of the Organization of World Heritage Cities. Cheikh Anta Diop University also known as the University of Dakar, was established in 1957.

Notable natives and residents[link]

This is a list with no clear inclusion or exclusion criteria. Please help to improve Wikipedia by ensuring that there is consensus on the inclusion and exclusion criteria on the talk page. Please do not remove this message until the section contains only verifiable material.

• Abdoulaye Diagne-Faye, footballer, West Ham United
• Abdoulaye Salam Fall, Founder Seneweb.com
• Akon, R&B singer, Real name - Alioune Thiam
• Assane Ndiaye, Singer and songwriter, cousin of Thione Seck
• Baaba Maal, singer and guitarist
• Boris Diaw, basketball player, San Antonio Spurs
• Bouna Coundoul, American footballer, New York Red Bulls
• Cheikh Samb, basketball player, former Los Angeles Clippers
• DeSagana Diop, basketball player, Charlotte Bobcats
• Ibrahim Ba, former footballer
• Ismaël Lô, singer-songwriter
• Issa, R&B singer
• Kalidou Kasse, visual artist, President of the International Association of Visual Artists of Senegal
• Luke Lattanzi-Silveus, former footballer
• Macoumba Kandji, footballer, Colorado Rapids
• Mamadou Barry, CEO/Founder, World Sun Technology, San Antonio, Texas, USA
• Mamadou Seck, basketball player,^[5]
• Mame Biram Diouf, footballer, Hannover 96
• Marc Lièvremont, Former rugby player and former head coach of the France national rugby union team
• Mbaye Diagne, United Nations military observer and hero during the Rwandan genocide
• Ofeibea Quist-Arcton, foreign correspondent for NPR News
• Orchestra Baobab
• Ousmane Barro, basketball player, Marquette University
• Papa Bouba Diop, footballer, West Ham United
• Patrice Evra, footballer, Manchester United
• Patrick Vieira, footballer, Manchester City
• Ségolène Royal, French politician born in Dakar
• Thione Seck, Singer and songwriter
• Youssou N'Dour, singer and percussionist
• Ousseynou Diop, Basketball player Bellevue University
• Hamady Ndiaye, Basketball player Washington Wizards
• Aziz N'diaye, Basketball player University of Washington
• Mamadou N'Diaye, former basketball player for Auburn University and the Toronto Raptors
• Papiss Cisse, footballer, Newcastle United

International relations[link]

Twin towns—Sister cities[link]

Dakar is twinned with:

• Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States
• Baku, Azerbaijan
• Douala, Cameroon
• Milan, Italy^[6]
• Oran, Algeria
• Rosario, Argentina
• Washington, D.C., United States^[7]

See also[link]

Senegal portal

Notes[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Dakar

• (French) Official website
• Peace Corps Senegal Volunteer Guide to Dakar

v t e Commune d'arrondissements of Dakar Biscuiterie ·Cambérène ·Dieuppeul-Derklé ·Fann-Point E-Amitié ·Gueule Tapée-Fass-Colobane ·Gorée ·Grand Yoff ·Grand Dakar  ·Hann Bel-Air ·HLM ·Médina Mermoz-Sacré-Cœur ·Ngor ·Ouakam ·Parcelles Assainies ·Patte d'Oie ·Dakar-Plateau ·Sicap-Liberté ·Yoff

Cyril Despres in 2009

Cyril Despres (born July 24, 1974 in Nemours, France)^[1] is a French rally racing motorcycle rider, resident of Andorra.^[2] He won the Dakar Rally four times, in 2005, 2007, 2010 and 2012^[3]; riding a KTM motorcycle.

On January 10, 2012, at Dakar Rally 2012, Portuguese pilot Paulo Gonçalves pulled Despres out of the mud but Cyril did not return the favour.

After a hectic battle with his KTM team-mate, Spaniard Marc Coma for the victory, Despres got back into the lead on the penultimate stage (Stage 13) thanks to a mechanical failure on Coma's bike, which he managed to keep on the last stage. Thus Cyril Despres has gained his fourth overall victory on the Dakar Rally, equalling former Honda and Cagiva rider, Italian Edi Orioli's performance.

Rallye Dakar results[link]

• 2000 : 16th
• 2001 : 13th, 1 stage victory
• 2002 : Did not finish
• 2003 : 2nd, 3 stage victories
• 2004 : 3rd, 4 stage victories
• 2005 : Winner, 2 stage victories
• 2006 : 2nd, 4 stage victories
• 2007 : Winner, 2 stage victories
• 2009 : 2nd, 4 stage victories
• 2010 : Winner, 3 stage victories
• 2011 : 2nd, 4 stage victories
• 2012 : Winner, 3 stage victories

References[link]

1. ^ Cyril Despres – Red Bull profile
2. ^ World Xtreme Enduro Championship – Cyril Despres
3. ^ Rider sheet – Cyril DESPRES

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Cyril Despres

• Official website

http://www.enduro.ie/dakar-rally-updates/

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