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The Pilgrimage Of Mansa Musa
ADF STAFF
The Hajj, the annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia, dates to the seventh century, the time of the Prophet Muhammad. But Muslims believe the pilgrimage dates back thousands of years earlier, to the time of Abraham.…
Where Am I?
CLUES
Walled towns and settlements, known as paletas, were built on high plains or hills to provide a strategic and defensive advantage.
Dry stone terraces prevent soil erosion, collect water and create terraced fields used in…
The Great Zimbabwe
ADF STAFF
Great Zimbabwe is mostly deserted now, but in its time it was a wondrous place.
Historians believe that members of what is now the Shona tribe began work on the city-state Great Zimbabwe in the ninth century, with its heyday…
The Women Warriors of Dahomey
ADF STAFF
In 1861, 3,000 heavily armed female Soldiers charged a thorny wall during a skills demonstration.
King Glele, their ruler in Dahomey, a region that is now part of Benin, was eager to show off the ferocity and skill of his…
Nana Yaa Asantewaa and the War of the Golden Stool
ADF STAFF
An Ashanti woman who shamed her tribe’s warriors into standing up for themselves more than 100 years ago has become a symbol of freedom for Ghana. Nana Yaa Asantewaa’s actions provoked the final Anglo-Ashanti war, known as the…
‘Women Could Do Whatever They Wanted’
ADF STAFF
Asli Hassan Abade made history as the first female air force pilot in Africa. She is a product of a unique time in her native Somalia’s history.
After Somalia became an independent country in 1960, its military branches grew…