Bohicon or Gbɔ̀xikɔn is a city in

Benin Benin, officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It was formerly known as Dahomey. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north-west, and Niger to the north-east. The majority of its po ...

, and a conurbation of

Abomey Agbome or Abomey is the capital of the Zou Department of Benin. The commune of Abomey covers an area of 142 square kilometres and, as of 2012, had a population of 90,195 people. Abomey houses the Royal Palaces of Abomey, a collection of small tr ...

lying 9 kilometres east of the city on the

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

line from

Cotonou Cotonou (; ) is the largest city in Benin. Its official population count was 679,012 inhabitants in 2012; however, over two million people live in the larger urban area. The urban area continues to expand, notably toward the west. The city lies ...

Parakou Parakou is the largest city in northern Benin, and the third-largest city in the country, with an estimated population of around 206,667 people, and capital of the Borgou Department. Administratively the commune of Parakou makes up one of Benin ...

and on Benin's main highway

RNIE 2 RNIE 2 is a national highway of Benin. It is Benin's main north–south highway which runs the entire 785 km down the centre of the country from the Niger River to Cotonou. The RNIE 2 crosses the RNIE 4 at Bohicon east of Abomey. Cities a ...

which joins the RNIE 4. The commune covers an area of 139 square kilometres and as of 2012 had a population of 149,271 people. Bohicon1

A specialty sold in the market is afitin (soy dawa-dawa/soy iru), which is traditionally and somewhat famously in Benin made by women in the region. It is a protein-rich fermented food widely used in West Africa as a seasoning.

Climate

Bohicon has a rather dry

tropical savanna climate Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry "winter") and ''As'' (for a dry "summer"). The driest month has less than ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

''Aw'') with a lengthy though moderate

wet season The wet season (sometimes called the rainy season or monsoon season) is the time of year when most of a region's average annual rainfall occurs. Generally, the season lasts at least one month. The term ''green season'' is also sometimes used a ...

from March to October and a short

dry season The dry season is a yearly period of low rainfall, especially in the tropics. The weather in the tropics is dominated by the tropical rain belt, which moves from the northern to the southern tropics and back over the course of the year. The t ...

from November to February. The wet season divides into two periods: a hotter first half from March to June and a cooler, foggy second half somewhat influenced by the northern extension of the

Benguela Current The Benguela Current is the broad, northward flowing ocean current that forms the eastern portion of the South Atlantic Ocean gyre. The current extends from roughly Cape Point in the south, to the position of the Angola-Benguela Front in the no ...

Administration

Bohicon is one of the 77 official

Communes of Benin The departments of Benin are subdivided into 77 communes, which in turn are divided into arrondissements and finally into villages or city districts. Prior to 1999 provinces were broken down into 84 districts, titled either urban or rural. Be ...

. The city is located 9 kilometres from

but the commune is divided into arrondissements: *

Bohicon 1 Bohicon or Gbɔ̀xikɔn is a city in Benin, and a conurbation of Abomey lying 9 kilometres east of the city on the railway line from Cotonou to Parakou and on Benin's main highway RNIE 2 which joins the RNIE 4. The commune covers an area of 139 ...

* Bohicon 2 * Sdohomé * Saclo * Passangon * Ouassaho * Lissezoun * Gnidjazoun * Avogbana * Agongointo

Notable landmarks

*Lycée Technique de Bohicon (LYTEB) *Collège Monseigneur Steinmetz *Bohicon Railway Station *Parc Archeologique d'Agongointo

Notable people

* Nicéphore Dieu-Donné Soglo - former President of Benin *

Hubert Maga Hubert Coutoucou Maga (August 10, 1916 – May 8, 2000) was a politician from Dahomey (now known as Benin). Born a peasant in 1916, Maga served as a schoolmaster from 1936 to 1945, during which time he gradually gained considerable influence among ...

- Born in

but studied in Bohicon. * Abraham Zinzindohoue - former Benin Minister of Justice * Ben La Desh - Musician from

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...

but born in Bohicon. *Jonas Lekpa - Famous marabout living in Bohicon.

References

External links

Bohicon
{{Authority control Communes of Benin Arrondissements of Benin Populated places in the Zou Department