Missing Vowels: African Capitals Quiz

Answer: Djibouti

Djibouti, otherwise known as Djibouti City, is the capital of Djibouti - one of the smallest countries on mainland Africa at around 23,200 square kilometres (9,000 square miles). The country was named after the city rather than the other way around. The Horn of Africa is the area surrounding the pointed bit of the eastern side of the continent that sticks out into the Arabian Sea and forms the southern coast of the Gulf of Aden.

The city of Djibouti is a major port and derives much of its trade from its strategic position just south of the Mandeb Strait, which separates Djibouti from Yemen on the Arabian Peninsula and connects the Gulf of Aden to the Red Sea and the Mediterranean (via the Suez Canal).

Answer: Kampala

Kampala dates back to the 19th century when it was the capital city of the Buganda kingdom. The British, who colonised the area in the 1890s, referred to it as "Hills of the Impala", which translated into Luganda - the language of the Bugandan people - as "Akasozi ke'Empala".

This was then shortened to produce the modern-day name of the city. The city is one of several around the world to originally have been built on seven hills, but its rapid expansion in the late 20th century and early 21st century has resulted in it spreading out over a much wider area. Kampala became the capital city of Uganda when the country gained independence from Britain in 1962.

Answer: Harare

The city of Harare is the capital of Zimbabwe, whose territory sits largely on a high plateau between the valleys associated with the Zambezi river to the north and the Limpopo river to the south. Its location at 1,500 metres (4,900 feet) above sea level means that despite being located in the tropics, the city's average annual temperature is around 18°C. Harare was founded in 1890 as a British fort and named after the then British Prime Minister, the Marquess of Salisbury.

It was renamed in 1982 following Zimbabwean independence a few years earlier, but its colonial history remains apparent in the names of many of its districts, including Belgravia, Cotswold Hills, Kensington and Marlborough.

Answer: Addis Ababa

Addis Ababa is home to a large number of international political organisations, including the African Union Commission - the main administrative function of the African Union, founded in 2001 to replace the Organisation of African Unity - and various agencies of the United Nations.

As the capital city of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa also houses the national government, so it is perhaps unsurprising that a large number of the city's population work in the government sector. The city is located at the base of the Entoto Mountains, the highest peak of which, Mount Entoto, was the site of the ancient capital of the Ethiopian Empire. Addis Ababa itself was founded in 1886 by Emperor Menelik II.

Answer: Gaborone

Gaborone is a modern, planned city on which construction began in 1964. It was designated as the capital of the then British territory of Bechuanaland a year later and then in 1966 became the capital of the newly independent nation of Botswana. The city is just 15 kilometres (10 miles) from the border with South Africa and is located on the Notwane River - a fact that is no coincidence since the city was deliberately built close to a fresh water source. 'The Mall' is a long, thin area containing both the city's financial district and main draws for tourism such as the National Museum and Art Gallery.

The city is also home to Botswana's government, but those buildings are located just off The Mall in a semi-circle shaped area.

Answer: Rabat

Rabat is the capital city of Morocco and is close to the northern tip of Africa's coastline on the Atlantic Ocean. It was one of the five key African ports associated with the Barbary pirates (or Barbary corsairs) in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries.

The other four were the neighbouring city of Salé (on the opposite side of the Bou Regreg river from Rabat); Tunis, the capital of Tunisia; Algiers, the capital of Algeria; and Tripoli, the capital of Libya (you may be sensing a theme by this point).

Modern day Rabat is no longer so heavily associated with the sea - mainly because the silting up of the Bou Regreg river has restricted the size and amount of shipping able use its port. It does have significant history though - it first became the capital of the Moroccan Empire in the 12th century.

Answer: Antananarivo

In fact, Antananarivo is the capital of Africa's largest island nation, Madagascar, which is also the fourth-largest island in the world. The city is located on the island's central highlands and is 1,280 metres (4,200 feet) above sea-level. It was founded in the early 17th century by King Andrianjaka of the Merina Kingdom when he built himself a royal fortress there and declared it his new capital.

The royal buildings and palaces remain a key sight of the city into the modern day, despite a fire in the 1990s which severely damaged many of the historic structures.

In addition to viewing the architecture, visitors to the city can also tour museums, arts and music venues and sports fans could always go and watch some rugby union - Madagascar's national sport.

Answer: Dakar

Dakar is the capital of the West African nation of Senegal. It is the traditional finish point of the transcontinental Dakar Rally (formerly called the Paris-Dakar Rally). Although the race itself retained the name 'Dakar', political and military tensions in northern Africa resulted in the race's cancellation in 2008 and it was then moved to South America the following year. Dakar sits on the Cap-Vert Peninsula and as such is located at the most westerly point of the African continent.

The city was founded by the Portuguese but mainly developed while the area was under the rule of France during the 19th century.

It became the capital of Senegal when the country achieved independence in 1960.

Answer: Juba

Although several historic villages and trading posts have been located in the area now occupied by the city of Juba, the city was actually founded in the early 1920s. Its key position on the White Nile meant that it was able to develop trading links as a major river port and transportation links to other African countries such as Kenya and Uganda. Prior to 2011 it was located in the southern region of Africa's largest nation, Sudan.

However, decades of civil war eventually culminated in the creation of the new nation of South Sudan and Juba's installation as its capital city in 2011.

However, the civil war also destroyed much of the area's infrastructure and resulted in economic difficulties as well as major loss of life.

Answer: Abuja

Abuja replaced Lagos as the capital of Nigeria in 1991 following several years of construction. It is located almost right in the centre of the country, which covers over 920,000 square kilometres (or just under 357,000 square miles) of western Africa.

This location was specifically chosen to represent the combined unity of the many disparate ethnic groups of Nigeria. The Central District (located by the impressive monolith Aso Rock) is also known as the Three Arms Zone and houses the three major parts of the country's government - the executive, the judicial and the legislative.