Benin City is one of the Ancient cities in Nigeria. Benin City is the capital of of Edo State. Benin City is regarded as the fourth largest city in Nigeria after Lagos, Kano and Ibadan. The Portuguese were surprised at how developed Benin City was when the arrived. Benin people are known for their Bronze. The indigenous people of Benin City are the Edo people (the Benin People),they speak the Bini language and other Edo languages. The people of the city have one of the richest dress cultures on the African continent and are known for their beads, body marks, bangles, anklets, raffia work and the subsistence farming of yam, plantain and cassava.
The Oba of Benin is one of the first class Kings in Nigeria.
My journey to Benin started on the 18th of June 2021, I was traveling for a friend's wedding ceremony and to tell you the truth I was excited about the Journey. Benin from Uyo is about 10 hours journey and I have never travelled that far before using the road. On that faithful day I woke up around 5a.m had my bath and headed out for the park around 5:30 a.m because a friend of mine had advised me to try and meet up with the first bus leaving for Benin just incase of any unseen circumstance, I would still arrive there on time. I got to the park by 6a.m and I was the 4th passenger heading for Benin I was happy but also worried that we might spend much time waiting for other passengers, I paid for my tickets and waited at the Edo terminal, within 10 minutes it was announced that passengers heading for Benin should head to their bus and be checked in, it took about 30minutes for all they passengers to be checked in because some people came with a lot of languages. The journey started and as we drove we met different security personel along the road they were more interested in checking the manifest of the bus, I guess they were looking for foreigners.
We got to the boundary between Akwa Ibom and Abia state that's when I realized I was really traveling, I kept looking at the forest has we drove through it and admiring the beautiful green leaves on the tree. Abia state was the first of 4 states we would pass through before getting to Edo state; Abia to Imo to Anambra to Delta state before arriving in Edo state. When we got to Delta state we stopped and had our lunch and by then we were just 2hours from Benin City. I was excited that I went on the 18th, the wedding on 21st of June so I had two days to visit some historical sites in Benin City. We arrived Benin around 4p.m I checked into my Hotel room had my bath and had some rest, later in the evening I went down to the restaurant for dinner, I asked for their menu and to be truthful I did not know any of the meals on the menu, the meal that got my attention was the groundnut soup, I was like how would this taste, I ordered for it and it was delicious, if you are opportune to visit Benin you should have a taste of this soup.
The next day I called my friend who had volunteered to take me around town to view some historical sites that I was ready to tour Benin City. The first place we visited was the Oba's Palace, the history of the Palace dates back to 900 A.D , it was rebuilt in 1914 to replace the one that was razed down in 1897 during the British invasion of Benin City. The Palace houses the Arts, Craft and Culture of the Bini people. It is located in the heart of the City.
The place we visited was the National Museum located at the King's square, the museum was constructed in 1973, it houses the most beautiful antiquities and the famous bronze work and cast iron artifacts.
The Benin City Wall was a great sight to behold the wall is made of moat, this was built to keep off Enemies just like other ancient cities. Part of the wall was destroyed in 1897 by the British, the wall is thick and tall it's amazing how advanced the Bini people were.
The next day we visited the Okomu National park, located in Ovia South Local Government Area of the state. The park is a home to many animals , Elephant, Leopard, Buffalos, Porcupines, Antelopes and Many more it such an amazing experience.
I had an amazing time in Benin City, I learnt new things about the Bini people other than the ones I read in text book. I would say that the rich culture of the Bini people shows that there was a high level of civilization in the Ancient city even before they made contact with the Europeans. If you are looking for a holiday destination Benin City would be a nice place to visit.