Backpacking The Mud Mosque of Kong | Côte d'Ivoire
March 3 2020
It took all day to get just 92km down the road. Was it worth it? For once I gotta say YES.
I may not have been able to see the mud mosques of Djenne or Bobo but Mali and Burkina Faso arent the only countries to have them. There are mud mosques in Cőte d'Ivoire too. Kong and Sorobango (which is an almost impossible mission to get to).
From Ferkessédougou, or Ferke as it is commonly known as, I headed to Kong with new found enthusiasm.
Of course getting there was the normal long drawn out West Africa affair but for once I'll spare you the details other than to say that it was a long day for minimal kilometers travelled and I only just made NICE LIGHT.
From Ferkessédougou, or Ferke as it is commonly known as, I headed to Kong with new found enthusiasm.
Of course getting there was the normal long drawn out West Africa affair but for once I'll spare you the details other than to say that it was a long day for minimal kilometers travelled and I only just made NICE LIGHT.
On the other side of the road is a much smaller and darker mud mosque:
I decided to stay a 2nd night at the Auberge de Kong. I had the shits all night anyhow. In the morning I braved the outside world and headed into town again. Water, cola, biscuits, La Vache Qui Rit, bread from the bakery and a Nescafe.
I went back to the Mud Mosque of Kong and got a second series of shots under different light. The sun was rather too high and the mornings have been very hazy lately but the shots turned out ok AND the doors to the mosque were open. I took a peek inside. There is no inner courtyard. There are lots of separate prayer rooms has an internal roof made of wood.
I went back to the Mud Mosque of Kong and got a second series of shots under different light. The sun was rather too high and the mornings have been very hazy lately but the shots turned out ok AND the doors to the mosque were open. I took a peek inside. There is no inner courtyard. There are lots of separate prayer rooms has an internal roof made of wood.
Transportation to Kong:
From Ferkessédougou (Ferke) mini vans cost 2,500 XOF and the ride is piste all the way. They go when full. I heard that there is an earlier departure but not when I went and the 2 hour trip I read about is something of a joke.
There is a Abidjan Ferke Kong bus. It arrives in Kong at around 7pm having passed through Ferke at around 4pm but no idea where you can catch it. It goes back at 5am. Price to Yamoussoukra is 7,000 XOF. It's around 350km. It doesn't take the piste. It takes the road that goes past the Auberge de Kong to Nasien and then turns west. Well that's what normally happens. I had asked the driver on my first night. But the on the 2nd night, by 8pm the bus still hadn't arrived. I turned up at 5.03am. The big bus wasnt there. It was a 25 seater instead. It left 5 minutes after I arrived and took the piste, but a slightly different route.The piste was in better knick and the driver was on a mission. We stopped only briefly to pick people up. And after 2 hours we hit the smooth blacktop, which continued all the way to Yamoussoukra.
Accommodation in Kong:
There is, seemingly, only the Auberge de Kong, 1km from town, it's sign posted at the road junction. They have 26 rooms, all with TV and AC (you need it here). The standard deluxe is 15,000XOF and the mega deluxe is a whopping 30,000XOF. No idea how that one looks. There is a WIFI connection but, someone changed the password and nobody knows what it is or even thinks to try and go about getting it fixed. They have a restaurant and bar but prices were kindda expensive as you would expect. I ate in town and had my evening beer at one of the many little makeshift bars called a marquis by the road side.
Here is my little semi detatched bungalow at the Auberge de Kong:
From Ferkessédougou (Ferke) mini vans cost 2,500 XOF and the ride is piste all the way. They go when full. I heard that there is an earlier departure but not when I went and the 2 hour trip I read about is something of a joke.
There is a Abidjan Ferke Kong bus. It arrives in Kong at around 7pm having passed through Ferke at around 4pm but no idea where you can catch it. It goes back at 5am. Price to Yamoussoukra is 7,000 XOF. It's around 350km. It doesn't take the piste. It takes the road that goes past the Auberge de Kong to Nasien and then turns west. Well that's what normally happens. I had asked the driver on my first night. But the on the 2nd night, by 8pm the bus still hadn't arrived. I turned up at 5.03am. The big bus wasnt there. It was a 25 seater instead. It left 5 minutes after I arrived and took the piste, but a slightly different route.The piste was in better knick and the driver was on a mission. We stopped only briefly to pick people up. And after 2 hours we hit the smooth blacktop, which continued all the way to Yamoussoukra.
Accommodation in Kong:
There is, seemingly, only the Auberge de Kong, 1km from town, it's sign posted at the road junction. They have 26 rooms, all with TV and AC (you need it here). The standard deluxe is 15,000XOF and the mega deluxe is a whopping 30,000XOF. No idea how that one looks. There is a WIFI connection but, someone changed the password and nobody knows what it is or even thinks to try and go about getting it fixed. They have a restaurant and bar but prices were kindda expensive as you would expect. I ate in town and had my evening beer at one of the many little makeshift bars called a marquis by the road side.
Here is my little semi detatched bungalow at the Auberge de Kong:
