Abuja

Abuja was built from nothing in the 1980s as a neutral capital in the geographic centre of Nigeria, replacing Lagos and deliberately placed between the Muslim north and the Christian south. It is planned, green and quiet by Nigerian standards, laid out along a central axis of ministries. Aso Rock, a four hundred metre granite monolith, rises directly behind the presidential complex and gives the seat of government its name. The National Mosque with its gold dome and the National Christian Centre face each other across the axis, which is the point.