Benin City is the Edo State capital and one of Nigeria's historical cities, capital of the old Benin Kingdom. It is famous for its ancient bronzes, which are some of the most prized antiques in Africa.
We flew from Lagos to Benin City and Philip Omodamwen, a bronze artist, welcomed us in his workshop. He showed and explained in detail the bronze casting manufacturing process. It’s incredibly expensive and they still produce the same way they did hundreds of years ago. Very impressive!
The next place we visited was the historical First Palace, the house of Chief Odiamen. The next day we visited the High Priest of Benin (Osemwegie Ebohon). He welcomed us very kindly and showed us around. His garden is full of statues, pots, masks and may shrines still used today.. In one of the shrines we found some skulls, blooded clothes, a deer head and a pot full of worms. They were preparing a festival, so we were able to enjoy music and dancing.
We left for Okomu National Forest. We had strong rain the night before, so we had to change the bus to 4Wds. We passed rubber plantations and it was so good to see some preserved land in Nigeria. We stayed at a lodge in the forest and even went on a few hikes.
On the way back to the airport I rode in the back of one of the trucks. It was such an experience to drive through the city traffic and puddles from outside of a vehicle. An experience that mom, I promise that I will not relive, but an interesting one.
It was a good weekend trip and very good for me to see somewhere else in Nigeria other then Lagos.
I've included a few video clips. I have discovered that am by far the worst video taper there is, but I really think the driving one is worth watching despite the quality of it. :)
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