عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Varieties

Benin Displays 26 Antiquities Recovered from France for First Time

French President Emmanuel Macron (L) looks at the doors of Benin King Glele's palace exhibited at the Quai Branly museum before being shipped to the West African country, in Paris, France, Oct. 27, 2021. (AFP Photo)
French President Emmanuel Macron (L) looks at the doors of Benin King Glele's palace exhibited at the Quai Branly museum before being shipped to the West African country, in Paris, France, Oct. 27, 2021. (AFP Photo)
TT
TT

Benin Displays 26 Antiquities Recovered from France for First Time

French President Emmanuel Macron (L) looks at the doors of Benin King Glele's palace exhibited at the Quai Branly museum before being shipped to the West African country, in Paris, France, Oct. 27, 2021. (AFP Photo)
French President Emmanuel Macron (L) looks at the doors of Benin King Glele's palace exhibited at the Quai Branly museum before being shipped to the West African country, in Paris, France, Oct. 27, 2021. (AFP Photo)

Benin President Patrice Talon on Saturday ‘proudly’ inaugurated a valuable historic exhibition about Cotonou. The exhibition displays 26 royal treasures to the public after they were returned by France in November, nearly 129 years after they were looted, according to Agence France Press (AFP).

This exhibition represents "pride and faith in what we once were, in what we are and in what we will be. This is the true Benin,” Talon told reporters.

He added that the recovery of these pieces “has broken a taboo. It’s not important anymore to wonder whether we can make it or not, because we did,” noting that Benin will request France to return more antiquities stolen by its colonial troops.

The exhibition, which kicked off on Feb.20 and runs until May 22, extends over a 2,000-square-metre space in the presidential palace in Cotonou under the theme “Benin Art Yesterday and Today.”

The 26 pieces returned by France after two years of negotiations between Paris and Cotonou, are the first of its kind recovery of important historic antiquities to an African state.

Earlier on Saturday, President Patrice Talon accompanied French minister of culture Roselyne Bachelot-Narquin, who was visiting Cotonou, to see the 26 pieces that were formerly exhibited at the Quai Branly Museum in France.

“It’s a wonderful exhibition that adds more value to the creativity, and political, historic, and aesthetic heritage of these 26 pieces,” she said.

The pieces were stolen in 1892 by French colonial forces from Abomey, capital of the former Dahomey kingdom located in the south of modern-day Benin.

Most Viewed

 
 
Varieties

Greece's 'Instagram Island' Santorini nears Saturation Point

Tourists queue as they wait to take a picture from one of the balconies. Aris Oikonomou / AFP
Tourists queue as they wait to take a picture from one of the balconies. Aris Oikonomou / AFP
TT
TT

Greece's 'Instagram Island' Santorini nears Saturation Point

Tourists queue as they wait to take a picture from one of the balconies. Aris Oikonomou / AFP
Tourists queue as they wait to take a picture from one of the balconies. Aris Oikonomou / AFP

One of the most enduring images of Greece's summer travel brand is the world-famous sunset on Santorini Island, framed by sea-blue church domes on a jagged cliff high above a volcanic caldera.
This scene has inspired millions of fridge magnets, posters, and souvenirs -- and now the queue to reach the viewing spot in the clifftop village of Oia can take more than 20 minutes, said AFP.
Santorini is a key stopover of the Greek cruise experience. But with parts of the island nearing saturation, officials are considering restrictions.
Of the record 32.7 million people who visited Greece last year, around 3.4 million, or one in 10, went to the island of just 15,500 residents.
"We need to set limits if we don't want to sink under overtourism," Santorini mayor Nikos Zorzos told AFP.
"There must not be a single extra bed... whether in the large hotels or Airbnb rentals."
As the sun set behind the horizon in Oia, thousands raised their phones to the sky to capture the moment, followed by scattered applause.
For canny entrepreneurs, the Cycladic island's famous sunset can be a cash cow.
One company advertised more than 50 "flying dresses", which have long flowing trains, for up to 370 euros ($401), on posters around Oia for anyone who wishes to "feel like a Greek goddess" or spruce up selfies.
'Respect Oia'
But elsewhere in Oia's narrow streets, residents have put up signs urging visitors to respect their home.
"RESPECT... It's your holiday... but it's our home," read a purple sign from the Save Oia group.
Shaped by a volcanic eruption 3,600 years ago, Santorini's landscape is "unique", the mayor said, and "should not be harmed by new infrastructure".
Around a fifth of the island is currently occupied by buildings.
At the edge of the cliff, a myriad of swimming pools and jacuzzis highlight Santorini is also a pricey destination.
In 2023, 800 cruise ships brought some 1.3 million passengers, according to the Hellenic Ports Association.
Cruise ships "do a lot of harm to the island", said Chantal Metakides, a Belgian resident of Santorini for 26 years.
"When there are eight or nine ships pumping out smoke, you can see the layer of pollution in the caldera," she said.
Cruise ship limits
In June, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis floated the possibility of capping cruise ship arrivals to Greece's most popular islands.
"I think we'll do it next year," he told Bloomberg, noting that Santorini and tourist magnet Mykonos "are clearly suffering".
"There are people spending a lot of money to be on Santorini and they don’t want the island to be swamped," said the pro-business conservative leader, who was re-elected to a second four-year term last year.
In an AFP interview, Tourism Minister Olga Kefalogianni echoed this sentiment and said: "We must set quotas because it's impossible for an island such as Santorini... to have five cruise ships arriving at the same time."
Local officials have set a limit of 8,000 cruise boat passengers per day from next year.
But not all local operators agree.
Antonis Pagonis, head of Santorini's hoteliers association, believes better visitor flow management is part of the solution.
"It is not possible to have (on) a Monday, for example, 20 to 25,000 guests from the cruise ships, and the next day zero," he said.
Pagonis also argued that most of the congestion only affects parts of the island like the capital, Fira.
In the south of the island, the volcanic sand beaches are less crowded, even though it is high season in July.
'I'm in Türkiye
The modern tourism industry has also changed visitor behavior.
"I listened (to) people making a FaceTime call with the family, saying 'I'm in Türkiye," smiled tourist guide Kostas Sakavaras.
"They think that the church over there is a mosque because yesterday they were in Türkiye."
The veteran guide said the average tourist coming to the island has changed.
"Instagram has defined the way people choose the places to visit," he said, explaining everybody wants the perfect Instagram photo to confirm their expectations.