Conakry

Conakry is built along a narrow peninsula that runs out into the Atlantic, which means the whole city has one road down its spine and traffic that never really clears. At the very tip sit the old colonial quarter and the port, and behind them the enormous market that supplies most of the country. A grand mosque with four tall minarets stands above the botanical garden. The beaches along the northern shore fill up at the weekend. Rainfall here is among the very heaviest of any capital on earth and the wet months are severe.