Gambia: Banjul – Arch 22
Seems like every African capital has a Stalinist-style monumental monstrosity – in Banjul it’s the 200 feet high Arch 22. The Arch was built in 1996 (designed by the same architect who did the African Renaissance monument in Dakar) and is dedicated to the 1994 military coup d’état that overthrew the democratically elected government and brought the colonel Yahya Jammeh to power (and he’s been the President ever since). The Arch is a massive building with spiral staircases leading up 7 floors to the observation platform offering a nice view of Banjul. Inside is the museum “of the revolution”. There were no tourists or locals visiting, just mosquitoes and spider-webs: locals don’t wanna pay $1 entry fee, while the packaged British tourists never step outside their overpriced beach hotels. In front of the Arch is an “unknown soldier” monument carrying a baby and flashing a V for victory (the coup was actually bloodless).
