Lomé’s Cultural Heritage: Markets, Museums and a German Cathedral

Lomé, like so many African capitals, is given the short shrift in guide books and online resources. Lonely Planet lists a meager four sights to visit in the Togolese capital (and none are marked with their “must-see” blue star), but still has plenty of ink to spill when it comes to the twenty two hotels and restaurants deemed “essential,” a.k.a. they paid to be featured in the travel guide. Neither the National Museum nor the Museum of International African Art are mentioned and when Lonely Planet suggests spending only a single day exploring Lomé, no one would question the recommendation after reading the paltry offerings on hand.

I spent seven nights in Lomé and was easily kept busy with a variety of things to do. Spending time in the grande marché each morning alone is enough to keep anyone occupied, although in doing so you face the serious danger of gaining weight as you are cajoled into purchasing sandwich after drink after sweet on every corner. (I could never play it cool, either. My eyes would light up when I spied an enticing treat and the vendor would know she had me caught in her web, ready to make a purchase.) As I have done in my previous posts about Togo, it’s time once again to rectify Lonely Planet’s errors and present a more complete picture of the charming Togolese capital.

Grande Marché (Main Market)

Of all the markets I visited in West Africa, Lomé’s grande marché puts the others to shame. You think this little street covered with umbrellas above is the whole grande marché? Imagine that wrapping around sixteen city blocks, and there’s your grande marché! The first time I strolled through it, browsing past the various items being hawked and peddled, I felt like I would never reach the other side. The force of the market pulls you in like a whirlpool of quicksand and won’t release you from its clutches until you’ve spent your last cfa.

Despite the market’s chaotic first impression, there is more organization to its layout than first meets the eye. The grande marché is divided into three sections: Atipoji, Asigame and Assivito. The produce, meat and eggs are zoned off in one area, household items, fabric and electronics are in a second and sandwiches, juices and other ready-to-eat meals are in another.

Colonialism has left behind more painful memories than positive ones, but one happy remnant from French rule is the bread baking tradition that was instilled in French Togoland. You can find fresh baguettes all over Lomé, just as if you were on the streets of Paris. Sandwich carts in the grande marché contain a veritable buffet of options, and your sandwich price is determined by how many toppings you add to the baguette. This is a great way to have a vegetarian lunch, without having to forgo Lomé’s famed street food.

Ok, I am officially OBSESSED with this pineapple ginger juice and I’m ready to pay Igor whatever it takes to ship me a 200L drum of it to New York. There was a woman selling it who reminded me of my paternal grandmother, and I remained loyal to her for the entire week I was in Lomé, refusing to purchase this juice from anyone else. (Interestingly, the price decreased daily as well!)

Some notes about buying fresh juices in the grande marché: women (almost all the vendors are women and children) stand beside a big bucket full of juice with only a ladle in hand. You must supply the bag, water bottle or container of choice in which you would like them to place the juice. Now it’s time to negotiate. You can say, “please give me 500cfa worth of juice,” or you can point to a line on the bottle and ask, “if you fill it up this high, how much will it cost me?” Remember to hem and haw until you’re both satisfied with the arrangement. Also keep in mind, the more you buy, the sweeter the deal!

Cathédrale du Sacré-Cœur de Lomé (Sacred Heart Cathedral of Lomé)

Right in the heart of the grande marché is the Sacred Heart Cathedral of Lomé, or simply the Lomé Cathedral. Built by the Germans in 1901, the cathedral has been the focal point of the Roman Catholic Church in Togo ever since. Pope John Paul II held mass here in 1985 and the building underwent extensive renovations in the 1990s.

Walking inside the cathedral is quite the experience. Outside, the market is swirling with noise, energy and excitement. People are animatedly haggling and bartering in competition with the West African music throbbing from the speakers in a neighboring stall. And then you step into the cathedral and all of that vanishes. Everything is still, quiet and cool. The interior’s simple elegance has a calming effect on you and the world of the grande marché, if only for a moment, feels like its a million miles away.

The city government has placed fantastic information-spouting plaques all over Lomé. They detail the history of selected landmarks and are peppered with enough trivia to make the nerdiest among us sing, but there’s one small catch: the information is translated into three languages, but none of them are English. Luckily I have a strong enough grasp of German and a decent understanding of French. After reading the description in each language I was able to decipher the message, but this should act as warning before you visit the capital: English does not rule the roost here in Togo. Learning some French before you come will help you go far. (Hiring a bilingual guide is another option many English-only speaking tourists opt for.)

Marché des Fétiches (Akodessawa Fetish Market)

The grande marché isn’t the only game in town. About 4km north of downtown, and easily reached by moto-taxi, is the marché des fétiches, the largest Vodun (Voodoo) market in all of Africa. People literally travel from all over the continent to shop here in Lomé. Of note: Akodessawa is a neighborhood of Lomé, which also has its own “regular” market. I told the moto driver to take me to Akodessawa market, not realizing the fetish market and the all-purpose market were two separate entities in two different locations. Fortunately, some kind people (the Togolese are ever so kind!) pointed me in the right direction, but avoid my mistake and specify to the driver that you want the fetish market.

Vodun originated in Togo and Benin before spreading throughout West Africa and across the Atlantic to the Caribbean and South America as a result of the slave trade. Today we think of Haiti as the center of Voodoo culture, but millions in Togo and Benin still practice the religion and the marché de fétiches is the ultimate superstore for all your Vodun needs. There is a fee for tourists to enter (that provides you an English or French-speaking guide) and there is an additional fee if you wish to take photos, so come prepared.

All creatures, whether alive or dead, are considered divine in Vodun. Priests can create a fetish by combining a mixture of plants and animals- a petal of this, a hair or tooth of that- with the recipe dependent on what you seek. Many fetishes are medicinal in nature. The marché des fétiches is like a giant pharmacy and there are priests on site to diagnose your illness, give you a shopping list for what to buy so they can create the fetish that will commence the healing process. Some fetishes promise protection, while others predict the future. Still other fetishes can be used for ill, such as casting curses that will inflict harm or even death on another. Such dark Vodun is considered highly dangerous and carries with it serious consequences and unintended side effects.

As soon as my guide learned of my goal to travel to every capital in the world, he grew quite solemn and tense. He gravely told me this was a very dangerous prospect (he was a good salesmen!). I was not to continue on my journey without a traveler’s protection fetish. We met a priest, gathered the ingredients and picked out a talisman that would contain the spirit of the fetish. The priest went about creating the fetish: he rang some bells, lit a candle, prayed (took a cash payment) and voila, I was blessed with my very own traveling protection fetish. Suddenly my guide’s mood brightened! I was now safe to visit every capital in the world again!

I still have the talisman and it sits on a bookshelf in my apartment. No harm has ever come to me on my travels. I can’t say for sure whether the fetish is to thank for this, but can you say for certain that it isn’t?

Musée International d’Art d’Afrique (Museum of International African Art)

The Museum of International African Art, formerly known as the Musée International du Golfe de Guinée, is located on the main road that runs parallel to the beach, just east of downtown. The museum has a strict no photography policy, so you’ll have to use your imagination, but the unique history of the museum will more than make up for my lack of images of the artwork.

The story begins halfway around the world from Togo when Xie Yanshen was born in China in 1952. A great lover of art and music from an early age, Xie eventually landed a job teaching violin at a music conservatory in Lomé. In 1989 at the age of 37, Xie moved to Togo and fell in love with West African art. He began visiting villages not only in Togo, but also in Ghana, Benin, Burkina Faso, Niger, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Senegal, The Gambia and Mauritania. Over the decades he amassed thousands of pieces and in 2011 he decided to open a museum to showcase his collection to the world. Since its opening, parts of the collection have toured the globe, including in his native China, where it marked the first public exhibition of Togolese art in the nation.

Admission grants you a guided tour and the young man who led me around was very knowledgeable about all the pieces in the collection. Never let anyone tell you that there isn’t art in Africa. It may have been overlooked by Lonely Planet, but it’s there if you take the time to seek it out.

Village Artisanal (Part of the Musée National)

The Musée National (National Museum) has an offshoot location that specializes in showcasing the art and culture of Togo. (It’s like someone knew I was coming to Lomé and created these museums just for me!)

As the name suggests, the Village Artisanal houses a wide assortment of artists demonstrating their traditional handicraft skills for visitors in the hope that they will sell some of the fruits of their labor. You can watch artists dyeing cloth, weaving, painting, sculpting, sewing garments and working with metal and wood. All of the items on sale are produced on premise. It’s a nice way to support local artists and receive an inside look into how the sausage gets made, so to speak.

EBID (ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development

A big myth surrounding travel in Africa is that there is little in the way of modernly designed buildings for the architecture-lover to marvel at. This naïveté, bordering on stupidity, will quickly be dispelled after a walk around Lomé.

My favorite bit of modern architecture, aside from the Palais des Congrès, was the EBID building, which is the financial center for all things ECOWAS. In 1975, fifteen nations in West Africa came together to found ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States). The goal was to strengthen both the private and public sectors of the countries across the region. In 1999, the EBID was formed and Lomé was elected to house its headquarters. The bank appears simultaneously sturdy and strong and also as if it is splitting in two, like a cell going through mitosis. This combination of stone and concrete in a such a fluid form was a sight to behold. I loved this building so much that I made a return trip at sunset to watch the deep blue Lomé sky create a backdrop for the lyric curves and bends of the structure.

Fruit and Fufu

You can’t come to Lomé and not eat some fufu. This sticky dish is made by boiling and pounding cassava flour until it forms into a blob-like starchy ball. You eat fufu with your fingers, breaking off a piece of the soft dough and dunking it into an accompanying soup or sauce. I was fortunate enough to have befriended Igor, who is surely the greatest chef in Togo, and he whipped me up a plate of fufu with one of the most delicious tomato and pepper soups I’ve ever had in my life. Fufu is rather filling and I think Igor was shocked I ate the whole thing. How could I stop when everything tasted so good?

Not only are travelers to West Africa warned against drinking any tap water, but fresh fruits and juices are supposedly off the menu as well. I heeded the former advice, but happily disobeyed the latter and never ran into any digestive issues. It’s a good thing too, because it would have killed me not to have been able to sample the bevy of mouth-watering tropical fruit that fill the markets at bargain-basement prices. I have especially grown to enjoy papaya, an oft-neglected fruit here in the US. Nothing put a smile on my face first thing in the morning faster than a strong cup of coffee, a fresh papaya and a chat with my new friend Igor, of course!

So much to do, so little time

As you hopefully can see, there is more than enough to keep you busy in Lomé for several days or more. Don’t let the guidebooks fool you into letting Lomé slip under the radar. Togolese culture shines brightly in the capital, from the colorful markets to the museums, architecture and food all over town. My advice when visiting Lomé? However long you think you’ll need to stay won’t be long enough.