Monuments to visit Fouta-Toro

Classified as a historical monument, the fort of Bakel was built between 1818 and 1819 to protect itself from resistance to colonization. From 1960, it housed the city's prefecture for several decades, but as the fort was almost falling into ruin, the prefecture moved in 2012. Since then renovation plans have been announced, but there is still no sign of any work... However, one can still enjoy the view from the terrace, overlooking the loop of the Senegal River with a Mauritanian village on the opposite bank.

This colonial house, remarkably well restored, where the hostel of Tekrour is located, also houses a small exhibition on the history of Podor: its golden age, its decline and the history of the families of traders who made it fortune through the gum arabian. You will also find a nice tribute to Oumar Ly, who died in 2016, with his black and white photos dating back to the 1960 s, for sale. Tours in the city, hiking from Podor and a tour of the island of Morphil are also offered.

You'll be amazed by the stature and nobility of this building, now decrepit but reminiscent of the splendor of a fallen empire. Baron Jacques-François Roger, first civil governor of Senegal (1822-1827), is said to have built this château for the beautiful eyes of a beautiful Senegalese woman, Yacine Yérim Diaw, whom he later married. The Baron would spend weekends with his wife in this residence reminiscent of the "folies", small ^18th-century châteaux. You can imagine his weekends in this residence, lost in the greenery, built on an island in La Taouey. Baron Roger is associated with the colony's agricultural development policy and its gardener, Richard, who gave his name to the town (Richard Toll means "Richard's fields"). The idea at the time was to compensate for the difficulties caused by the abolition of slavery with pickaxes. Governor Schmalz had launched the movement, negotiating agrarian concessions with the brack (king) of Walo in 1819. Feeling unsupported, the baron returned to France for a time. On his return to Senegal in 1822, he took up the post of governor. The king asked him for help, as the local population feared raids by Mauritanians intent on capturing Senegalese and selling them as slaves. The St. Louisans, who had made their living from hunting and fishing, became farmers, and the technicians who had come for the occasion, all concentrated first on growing potatoes, vines and olives, then, after a dismal failure, on cotton, silkworms and cochineal. In 1824, the Société agricole du Walo was born, acquiring new land and bringing the total to nearly 1,200 ha. Ill, at the end of 1826, the Baron left the colony with a sense of duty accomplished. Richard-Toll was established as the center of the agrarian effort. His successors, Gerbidon, Jebelin and then Brou, reduced production figures and liquidated Baron Roger's enterprise. Faidherbe decided to cede the building to the nuns, who turned it into a church. In 1960, the "folie" became a school, then offices. Today, the old colonial building, listed as a National Historic Monument, seems to long for visitors. Almost nothing of the splendor of the past can be seen, the castle being reduced to its own pale yellow walls. Rehabilitation projects have long been mooted, but in the meantime, the decrepit edifice...

Built in 1744 by France, the first fort served as a store for the storage of goods. It was then in the hands of the English, before being taken over by the French. Abandoned for 66 years after the French Revolution, it fell into ruin. Then the Holy War, led by El-Hadj Oumar Tall, worried. The French came back in force and the old store became this war fort under the supervision of Faidherbe. It is prudent to try to contact the curator, Thiam, before considering a visit, as there is often a closed door. The building was officially inaugurated in March 2006, after some restoration work financed by France. But there is still a lot of work to be done to give it a real facelift. The fort is home to a museum that traces the past and shows some photos by Oumar Ly, a Senegalese photographer who died in February 2016. Unfortunately, the museum is not maintained and it has been almost abandoned for a few years. It is also very difficult to visit the fort except on the day of the stopover at Bou El Mogdad where the curator is present. Climbing up to the attic of the fort gives an idea of the strategic location of this citadel. The view extends to Mauritania and embraces the entire valley of Podor. The atmosphere of the fort, the skirmishers of Governor Louis Faidherbe, the surrounding forest that isolated it, all this is within the reach of the imagination, very close, once inside the walls of the fortress.