Conakry - City of Guinea
Conakry or Konakry is the capital and largest city of Guinea.
Guinea's capital city is a port on the Atlantic Ocean. Originally situated on Tombo Island, one of the Īles de Los, it has since spread up the neighboring Kaloum Peninsula. The population of Conakry is difficult to ascertain, although the U.S. Bureau of African Affairs has estimated it at 2 million. Even given this uncertainty, Conakry makes up almost a quarter of the population of Guinea.
According to a legend, the name of the city comes from the fusion of the name "Cona", a wine and cheese producer of the Baga people, and the word "nakiri", which means the other bank or side.
Conakry was originally settled on tiny Tombo Island and later spread to the neighboring Kaloum Peninsula. The city was essentially founded after Britain ceded the island to France in 1887. In 1885, the two island villages of Conakry and Boubinet had fewer than 500 inhabitants. Conakry became the capital of French Guinea in 1904 and prospered as an export port, particularly after a railway to Kankan opened the large scale export of groundnut from the interior.Its small size and relative isolation from the mainland, while an advantage to its colonial founders, has created an infrastructural burden since independence.
In 1970, conflict between Portuguese forces and the PAIGC in neighboring Portuguese Guinea spilled into the Republic of Guinea when a group of 350 Portuguese troops and Guinean dissidents landed near Conakry, attacked the city, and freed 26 Portuguese prisoners of war held by the PAIGC before retreating, failing to overthrow the government or kill the PAIGC leadership.
Attractions in the city include the Guinea National Museum, several markets, the Guinea Palais du Peuple, Conakry Grand Mosque , the city's nightlife and the nearby Iles de Los.
Conakry Grand MosqueThe city is noted for its botanical garden. The Polytechnical Institute of Conakry is also located in Conakry.
The street numbering scheme of Conakry labels all roads with a two-letter code for the urban district, followed by a three digit number: odd for north-south streets and even for east-west.
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