Gate of No Return
Located at a lovely beach, the door of no return is a monument that reveals a part of local history: Ouidah (the capital of Benin voodoo) is the city from which went slaves sold by their countrymen who were then purchased by whites. The door of no return inexorably marked the transition out of the homeland. The men who died before they were through the door and then initiates were still buried in the ground, but after the past were no longer men and were thrown into the ocean. With four bas-reliefs depicting a fight between some slaves chained and various other representations as male and female figures kneeling, the door of no return is a must for those who spend their holidays in Ouidah. |