Hidden African Major Cities Trivia Quiz

Answer: Cairo

"... MordeCAI ROasted some..."

Cairo, Egypt's capital, is one of the most important cities in Africa. The Greater Cairo Metropolitan Area is the largest urban agglomeration not only in the continent, but also in the Arab World and in the Middle East - it's the 12th largest in the world, with over 22.1 million inhabitants.

It is also considered a World City by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network (GaWC), meaning that is a city that serves as a primary node in the global economic network.

Home to a rich cultural and historical heritage, Cairo's geographical reach includes the Giza pyramids and the ancient cities of Memphis and Heliopolis, attracting a massive influx of tourism on a yearly basis.

Answer: Rabat

"... a nap oR A BATh..."

Rabat is the capital city of Morocco. Interestingly, it is not the largest city in the country, being ranked 7th in that matter (behind Casablanca, Fez, Tangier, Marrakesh, Salé and Meknes).

Founded in the 12th century by the Almohads, it later was made into the administrative center of the French Protectorate that was established in the country in 1912. After achieving independence in 1955, it remained as the national capital city.

While not as famous as other Moroccan cities, such as some of the ones listed above, Rabat is regarded as a top touristic destination. The Medina, the old town, was inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 2012. Also, it is one of the four Imperial Cities of Morocco, together with Marrakesh, Fez, and Meknes.

Answer: Malabo

"... are a disMAL ABOmination."

Equatorial Guinea is a small country in the central west part of Africa. It owes its name to its geographic location, as it lies on the Gulf of Guinea and slightly north of the Equator. It is the only African country that has Spanish as an official language.

It consists of a mainland region and an insular region, the latter of which comprises the small volcanic island of Annobon, and the much larger Bioko, which is home to the national capital, Malabo. The city is the oldest one in the country, and the second largest one, behind Bata on the mainland. Equatorial Guinea's largest waterfalls (Iladyi Falls, over 250 mts tall) and highest mountain (Pico Basile, over 3,000 mts of height) are located very close to Malabo.

In 2011, the government announced the planning of a new capital city to be located in the mainland. Originally named Oyala, it was renamed to Ciudad de la Paz in 2017. The city, although already partially functional, is still under construction, and not yet declared as the new capital city over a decade later.

Answer: Chad

"...the maiN DJ A MENAce..."

I admit this one was tricky.

N'Djamena is the largest city and the capital of Chad, in Central Africa. Formerly known as Fort Lamy, it is located in the southwestern area of the country, on the banks of the Chari River near the confluence with the Logone River. It is a key location in the Trans-African Highway Network, as it is part of the Tripoli-Cape Town Highway and also the eastern terminus of the Trans-Sahelian Highway.

Answer: Bangui

"... those urBAN GUIded visits..."

The largest city in the Central African Republic, Bangui serves as its capital. It is located towards the south of the country, laying on the banks of the Ubangi River (from which the city name was derived), which serves as the international border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In 2022, it had a population of around 933,000.

Bangui is the center of one of the largest magnetic anomalies in the world, which was named after the city in 1982.

Answer: Banjul

"...decided to BAN JULes..."

Banjul is the capital city of The Gambia. It is located at the tip of the eponymous island (also known as St. Mary's Island) that lies at the point where the Gambia River enters the Atlantic Ocean. The island is accessible by road via the Denton Bridge, which links it to the city of Serekunda, The Gambia's most populous city, but it can also be reached by ferries that depart from the mainland city of Barra.

The entrance to Banjul, which was known as Bathurst up until 1973, is adorned by a commemorative gateway known as Arch 22. It was built to remember a military coup that took place on July 22, 1994, in which the democratically elected President, Sir Dawda Jawara, was overthrown by the Armed Forces Provisional Ruling Council led by Yahya Jammeh.

Answer: Bissau

"...kohlraBIS, SAUerkraut..."

One of three countries named Guinea in Africa, Guinea-Bissau was a Portuguese colony. When it became independent, it added the name of its capital city to the country name, to avoid confusion with the nearby Guinea (which was formerly known as French Guinea).

The origin of the name of the city is not clear, but some sources state that it might have come from the Bossassun clan. Some cultural landmarks include the Fortaleza de Sao Jose da Amura, built by the Portuguese in the 18th century, which contains the mausoleum of Amilcar Cabral, one of the earliest African anti-colonial leaders.

Answer: Dodoma

"...to see a DODO, MArtina..."

Though the question hints at the tragically famous dodo, there were actually none of them in Tanzania, of which Dodoma is the capital city since 1996, after being relocated from Dar-es-Salaam.

Dodoma sits close to the centre of the country, and the decision for it to become the new capital city was an effort to promote social and economic development to the central region, as it was mostly concentrated around Dar-es-Salaam, located near the coast.

Contrary to other planned capital cities, Dodoma was not conceived as a monumental city, with most of its design retaining the rural feel of the region - most of the streets are not based on the grid iron layout.

Even though it is currently the official capital, most government offices remain in Dar-es-Salaam, which is considered the de facto capital city, as well as its main economic centre.

Answer: Conakry

"...that iCON A KRYpton gas..."

Conakry is a port city that serves as the capital of Guinea (formerly known as French Guinea, and sometimes referred to as Guinea-Conakry, to avoid confusion with the similar named neighbors). It was originally founded on Tombo Island, one of the Iles de Los, but it has expanded towards most of the Kaloum Peninsula along the years.

Conakry is also the largest city of the country, being home to almost a quarter of Guinea's total population, and its economic, financial, and administrative centre, with most of the economic activity based around the port.

And, just to point it out, the krypton reference was just to build up the correct answer into the question text. Guinea has a significant mining industry (being one of the main worldwide producers of bauxite, and having large reserves of iron ore that are yet to be exploited), but krypton is not among its products, as it's not actually possible to mine it.

Answer: Harare

"...buy LeigH A RARE soapstone..."

Harare is the capital city of Zimbabwe. It was originally founded as Fort Salisbury (later shortened to just Salisbury) by the British South Africa Company. It served as the seat of the Southern Rhodesian government, and as the capital of the Central African Federation from 1953 to 1963. It was renamed in 1982, two years after Zimbabwe declared independence from the United Kingdom.

Despite having been through severe economic crises, Harare is a major commercial, financial and administrative centre in Southern Africa. It is one of two African headquarters of the World Health Organization, together with Brazzaville in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and was listed as a World City in 2018.

Zimbabwe is famous around the world for its rich stone sculpture art. A wide range of stones are used to create these pieces, one of them being the soapstone.