N'Djamena

N'Djamena is the capital of Chad. It is the largest city in the country. The city is a port on the Chari River. N'Djamena is also a special statute region. It is a regional market for livestock, salt, dates, and grains. Meat processing is the main industry. N'Djamena has a population of 721,000 people.

Coat of arms
Country	Chad
Region	N'Djamena
Founded	May 22, 1900
Renamed	April 6, 1973
Population  (2005)
• Total	721,000
Time zone	UTC+1

Attractions in the city include the Chad National Museum, a cathedral and several mosques. Religiously the city is very mixed, although many of the people there are Islamic . N'Djamena has a university, schools of administration and veterinary medicine, and the American International School of N'Djamena. N'Djamena International Airport is located just outside the city.

History

N'Djamena was founded as Fort-Lamy by the French commander Émile Gentil on May 29 1900. It was named after Amédée-François Lamy. He was an army officer who had been killed in the Battle of Kousséri a few days earlier. The name was changed to N'Djamena (taken from the Arab name Niǧāmīnā, meaning "place of rest") by the President François Tombalbaye on April 6, 1973.

The city was badly damaged during the Chadian Civil War, in 1979 and again in 1980. On April 13, 2006, the United Front for Democratic Change attacked the city but the attack failed.

N'Djamena Media

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  A street in N'Djamena, 1952

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  Astronaut's view of N’Djamena

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  The Dary festival in N'Djamena

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  N'Djamena International Airport

Other websites

• Map of N'Djamena Archived 2006-06-27 at the Wayback Machine