Lomé: voodoo markets on the Togolese Atlantic

Capital of Togo, historic cradle of Vodou worship, Lomé hosts one of West Africa's most celebrated fetish markets.

Collective taxis (zemidjan) remain the most common way to move around.

The Marché des Féticheurs, a market dedicated to the voodoo religion, sells traditional ingredients for shamanic rituals under the guidance of local healers.

Steps away, the Great Market of Lomé, among the largest in West Africa, is traditionally managed by women merchants known as 'Nana Benz'.

Moving along the coast one walks the Lomé waterfront, which directly overlooks the border with Ghana a few kilometers away.

Towards evening, local restaurants serve fufu, a specialty based on cassava shared throughout West Africa.

Vodou, the traditional African religion that also gave rise to the more famous Haitian voodoo brought by enslaved deportees, remains openly practiced in Togo as an officially recognized religion.

The 'Nana Benz,' Togolese textile merchants so nicknamed for their wealth that allowed them to own Mercedes-Benz automobiles, dominated textile commerce in West Africa for decades, becoming rare female economic powerhouses for their time and symbols of empowerment.