Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
staged pullback from the military buffer zone, to be replaced gradually by mixed brigades
of government and rebel troops. Gbagbo declared the end of the war and the two sides
moved to dismantle the military buffer zone.
In June that year a rocket attack on Prime Minister Soro's plane killed four of his aides,
shaking the peace process further. Protests over rising food costs spread through the coun-
try in April 2008, causing Gbagbo to put the elections back to November. A month later,
northern rebels began the long disarmament process. Just days before the planned elec-
tions, the government postponed them yet again, amid disorganised voter registration and
uncertainty about the validity of identity cards.
Côte d'Ivoire began to embrace a wary peace and was looking to 2010 elections when
tensions boiled over, sparking the conflict that has left the country in the state it is in
today.
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Culture
None of Côte d'Ivoire's conflicts have killed the population's
joie de vivre;
even in Abid-
jan, nightclubs remained open at the height of the fighting. Education and professional life
are taken seriously in Abidjan and other large urban areas, and literature, art and creativity
are valued; even in refugee camps on the Liberian border, you might come across book-
club meetings and philosophical salons. In rural areas, family ties are deeply treasured and
you'll meet many Ivorians who are supporting as many as 20 kin on their pay cheques.
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Arts & Crafts
The definitive Ivorian craft is Korhogo cloth, a coarse cotton painted with geometrical
designs and fantastical animals. Also prized are Dan masks from the Man region, and
Senoufo wooden statues, masks and traditional musical instruments from the northeast.
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Food & Drink
Côte d'Ivoire is blessed with a cuisine that's lighter and more flavoursome than that of its
immediate coastal neighbours. There are three staples in Ivorian cooking: rice,
fufu
and
at-
