AUNT, FORTIFIED PALACE OF SULTAN SENOUSSI

For travellers who have already had the chance to travel north of Benin and the Somba country, the sultan's «tata» will not be a real discovery, since it presents similar architecture and thus bears the same name. Although built in the th century, this palace retained its original configuration thanks to remarkably conserved remains. Some walls, built with conical bricks, are particularly resistant to the whims of nature. Built on the plateau of the hill overlooking Ndélé, the Tata was the nerve centre of the slave trade organized by the sultan, who, from his palace, supplied the markets in North Africa, Sudan, Egypt and the Middle East. While Gorée Island in Senegal was one of the western traffic hubs, Sultan Sonosi's tata had exactly the same role for the East. As a centre for international traffic, his court saw men, women and children from all geographical and cultural backgrounds, traders, slaves, property dealers… Place of Civilizational brassage, the location of the Tata was not randomly chosen: to the northwest, a chain of hills, to the south and southeast, the Ndélé River called Méagoulou. The entrance is secure with a natural opening of about 6 m wide. Inside, life in autarky was possible in the event of an attack. The main residence of the sultan is on the bottom, jouxtée by the home of the household and the house of his first wife, Umm Diwan, followed by those of the other wives. Moving the sons of the Sultan, Djemel-Heddine and Kamoun, lies north of their father's residence. In the foreground, as a bulwark in the main building, we can see the houses of Allah Djaba, which was one of the sultan's main lieutenants, and his eldest son, Adoum. In the north-east, it is the neighborhood of craftsmen, such as Faki Issa, but also that of chiefs banda, blacksmiths, like chef Gbaga Yanda, famous dealer of the time. Inside the tata is also the descendants area of the Robes. The residence of Mercuri, French who lived with Sultan Sonosi, is in the west. Finally, in the north-west, there is the firing field, connected by a long underground corridor to the executing chamber and castration of the eunuchs. On a part of the plateau that borders on the terrace, villages were built that brought together many ethnic groups, such as the Bazinguer Krech, Kara, Rounga, etc. On another Portion of the Plains, some Muslim families and other populations have settled, such as Banda, Sara, Rounga, Ndouka, Djémé… The site has been subjected to the indicative list. UNESCO property.