Kano: The Oldest City in West Africa

Kano has been the "Centre of Commerce" since a thousand years as it was a main conduit for trans-Saharan trade. The remnants of 15th century Kano City Wall can be seen across the city. Hausa architecture is absolutely beautiful and replicated in the British Council office.

We stayed with a fellow VSO Volunteer from UK-Susan who was a fantastic host. She gave us a grand tour of the city starting from the 15th century traditional indigo dye pits, the vibrant Kurmi Market (where we saw whole spices including saboot dhania and methi), the Kano Museum (the only museum where the guide allowed us to take pictures). The Museum had preserved few of the 15 original gates along the Kano Wall whose condition matches that of the Iron Pillar in Delhi!

Kano has a huge Lebanese, Philippino and Indian community. We had delicious shawarma and zarta (special bread with olive oil, thyme and sesame seeds)!

Here we also saw the traditional art of ironing with a very heavy wooden tool which gives a lovely shine to the cloth. You can see Parth also giving it a try! You can also take a peak at a typical motor park in Abuja where we took a shared taxi to Kano!