Comoé Autonomous District
The Comoé Autonomous District comprises three regions: Indénié-Djuablin, Moronou and Sud-Comoé. It covers an area of 20,353 km2. The Comoé Autonomous District is bordered to the north by the Gontougo Autonomous District, to the west by the Lacs and Lagunes Autonomous Districts, to the south by the Atlantic Ocean and to the east by the Republic of Ghana.
The capital of the Comoé District is the town of Abengourou. It is both the capital of the Indénié-Djuablin region and the residence of the current King of Indénié, Chief of the Agnis N’Dénian. Abengourou is at the centre of a region that is particularly rich in ritual festivals, such as the Yam Festival and the Festival of Generations.
The Comoé Autonomous District is essentially agricultural. In terms of cash crops, the District produces coffee, cocoa, oil palm, rubber trees, pineapples, bananas, etc. The Comoé Autonomous District also excels in livestock farming, particularly chicken, pork and egg production, as well as fishing. Finally, the Comoé Autonomous District is a hub of tradition, customs and traditions, with festive celebrations and festivals, notably the yam festival, the Abissa, the Popo carnival, the Climbié Beach in Assinie Mafia and the Festival des arts et de la culture Agni d’Abengourou (FESTAGNI).
Grand-Bassam, some forty kilometres east of Abidjan, is also part of the Comoé District. For several decades now, it has been the country’s leading seaside resort. It is home to a colonial village, whose last architectural treasures are slowly falling into ruin, a N’Zima village and a town, a busy crossroads on the road to Aboisso and Ghana.
Grand-Bassam, the largest municipality in Côte d’Ivoire and home to almost 60,000 inhabitants, is spread over two areas linked by the Pont de la Victoire. The old centre developed on the peninsula of the France quarter, where trading houses, administrative offices and various residences were established during the colonial era. Later, around 1909, the town expanded beyond the lagoon onto the continental shelf, forming the Grand-Bassam agglomeration with Moossou, the main indigenous settlement.