I Bless the Sites Down in Africa Quiz

Answer: Mauretania

The ancient state of Mauretania covered the northern part of Morocco and central Algeria. It gave its name to the present-day country of Mauritania, which was occupied by Berbers before Yemeni Arabs began to move in and the country became a Muslim state. Mauretania was also controlled by Berber tribes until the Roman occupation of 25 BC, when it became a client state. Volubilis was built on fertile land and the trade of olives (some of the remaining buildings on the site were once olive oil mills) and grain enabled the city to flourish; it contained a basilica, public baths, a triumphal arch (the Arch of Caracalla) and several large houses with mosaics, some of which can still be seen today. Local tribes took over Volubilis in 285, and after it was abandoned by the Romans, it became a Christian community and then an Islamic settlement (as evidenced by the discovery of Islamic coins); it was the seat of power of King Idris I, the founder of the Idrisid Dynasty.

The seat of power was later moved to Fes in the 11th century and Volubilis became an abandoned city when its population moved to nearby Moulay Idriss Zerhoun. Excavation of Volubilis by the French began in the early 19th century, and several artefacts from the city are now on display at the Rabat Archaeological Museum.

Answer: Carthage

Carthage was originally a Phoenician colony that was founded in the 9th century BC and grew into a large city state, the capital of the Carthaginian Empire. Because of its coastal position and proximity to Sicily, it was a key trading point, its exports including olive oil and wine.

It was destroyed and rebuilt by the Romans, and known as Carthago or Roman Carthage. The modern archaeological site includes the Baths of Antoninus (pictured here), the biggest Roman baths built in Africa; the Cisterns of La Malga, supplied by a hydraulic complex which ran from Zaghouan to Carthage; and the Byrsa, a walled citadel which acted as the city's main military installation and one of the remaining Phoenician ruins.

There is also an open-air museum at Carthage, the Carthage Paleo-Christian Museum, which features early Christian artefacts from the area. Opinion has been divided among archaeologists as to whether child sacrifice was practiced there, after finding urns containing both animal and children's bones.

Answer: Climbing aids for builders

If you look at photos of Timbuktu, you might notice some conical buildings with wooden spikes on them, such as the Sankoré Mosque here. One writer described them as resembling 'desert hedgehogs'. Like many other buildings in Timbuktu, they are made from mud, and the spikes are in place for builders to climb on so that they can pile more mud on the building when the surface starts to wear away.

As well as a centre of trade in the Sahel region, with salt being one of its biggest exports, Timbuktu was also a major centre of Islamic learning; the University of Timbuktu was not an actual university so much as a collection of mosques (the other two being Djinguereber Mosque and Sidi Yahya Mosque).

By the early 14th century, when Timbuktu had become part of the Mali Empire, the University had amassed one of Africa's biggest collections of books. Timbuktu later was absorbed into the Songhai Empire; after the fall of the Songhai Empire, it was occupied by the Arma, invaders from Morocco, and began to fall into decline.

In 2012, the city was attacked by the Muslim fundamentalist group Ansar Dine, who destroyed several shrines, claiming they were haram.

Answer: Sudan

Kush was a kingdom on a par with Ancient Egypt, and indeed, it incorporated the southern part of Egypt and the north of Sudan. Meroë, its capital, is near the town of Shendi in Sudan and the pyramids pictured here were inspired by Egypt's famous pyramids, though the Egyptians had moved on to other burial methods for their royalty at that point.

They were built from granite and sandstone, and a large amount of them have survived to the present day. The initial capital of Kush was at Napata, but King Aspelta moved it to Meroë after Napata was sacked by the Pharaoh Psamtik II.

It was an ideal location due to its rich iron ore deposits (one historian even compared it to England's Birmingham!) and hardwood, and also had access to the Red Sea. It also exported jewellery and textiles, and many items of jewellery were found in the city by archaeologists in the 19th century. Meroë was captured by the Kingdom of Aksum, centred around its capital in what is now Ethiopia's Tigray Region, in the 4th century AD; it had also previously been involved in conflicts with the Roman occupiers of Egypt.

Answer: Compound

When it comes to African World Heritage Sites, Ethiopia, along with Morocco and South Africa, is one of the countries with a particularly large number. Other sites include the fortified town of Harar Jugol, the ancient city of Aksum, the medieval rock-hewn churches of Lalibela, and the Konso Cultural Landscape. Ethiopian monarchs were originally nomadic, but Fasilides was the first to settle in one place, and founded the city of Gondar, which became the capital of the Ethiopian Empire, in the 17th century. (Addis Ababa would not be founded for another 200 or so years.) Fasil Ghebbi started out as a castle, and various emperors added to it over the years; the complex also includes a library and chancellery from the reign of Yohannes I, the palace of Emperor Iyasu I, the castle of Empress Mentewab, and three churches.

The original buildings were inspired by a mixture of Nubian, Arab and Hindu influences.

Answer: Cattle

While dogs, camels and caprids (sheep, goats, etc.) do appear in the Ennedi Plateau rock art, it's cattle that are most represented, with over 50% of the animals depicted being cattle of some sort. The cattle are also drawn in great detail, with distinct horns (such as longhorn cattle) and coats, and are generally depicted standing still while horses and camels are depicted on the move. Wild animals such as giraffes and rhinoceros are also depicted. Humans pictured tended to be more male than female, and men would be drawn holding weapons or protecting their livestock, while women were drawn in more detail and were sometimes shown with shields.

Although the exact date of the rock art is unknown, it's estimated to be around 5000 BC. The earlier paintings were more monochrome, while later ones had more colour and also depicted weapons.

Although several paintings have been destroyed by vandals or the weather over time, many still remain.

Answer: Benin

The Kingdom of Dahomey was one of West Africa's most powerful kingdoms in the 18th and 19th centuries, with an organised military - including an all-female unit known as the Dahomey Amazons - and ongoing trade with Europe. It was colonised by the French in 1904, when it became French Dahomey, then the Republic of Dahomey in 1958, and gained independence in 1960, along with several other African countries. Abomey was the capital of the Kingdom of Dahomey, and also the base of various royals.

There are twelve palaces, two of which - the palaces of King Ghézo and King Glélé, which King Béhanzin had attempted to burn down - house the Historical Museum of Abomey. Abomey was originally surrounded by a wall of mud and a ditch filled with prickly acacia plants. Bas-reliefs within the palaces depicted the history of the Fon people, Benin's largest ethnic group.

The buildings were made from earth, while the roofs were made from straw and sheet metal.

Answer: Donkeys

Donkeys on Lamu Island are both pack animals and a means of transport; in the quarrying town of Manda Maweni, they are used to pull carts carrying building materials. A donkey sanctuary was set up on the island in 1987 to take care of the animals, and volunteers worked to make carts and harnesses more donkey-friendly, to reduce injuries.

They also take part in local festivities. The island is popular with backpackers and other notable features include Lamu Fort, a former Omani stronghold that was commissioned by Fumo Madi ibn Abu Bakar, the Sultan of Paté (the largest island in the Lamu Archipelago), to protect his government; however, he died during its construction. Today, Lamu Fort houses a museum and a library containing works of Swahili poetry. Lamu is also a hive of Muslim activity; it has 23 mosques, the most notable of which is the Riyadha Mosque, where the Maulidi Festival - which celebrates the birth of Mohammed - is held.

Answer: Coral

Husuni Kubwa is a typical example of Swahili architecture, being built out of coral limestone and coral rag, a type of limestone made from ancient coral. The palace consists of three main elements: a stairway leading down to a mosque on the beach, an enormous residential complex, and a court which was used for conducting business.

There is also a swimming pool and a pavilion, and pieces of Chinese ceramics have been found at the site. The pillars of the Great Mosque, another notable building on Kilwa Kisiwani and one of the oldest surviving mosques on the Swahili Coast, were also originally carved from coral, but replaced by timber over the years.

Besides Husuni Kubwa and the Great Mosque, other notable buildings on the island include Husuni Ndogo, a smaller palace, and Gereza Kilwa, a church built by the Portuguese in the 16th century.

It was later converted into a fort by Omani colonisers.

Answer: Namibia

A peace park, also known as a transboundary protected area, is an ecological protected area that crosses national borders - in this case, the border of South Africa and Namibia. The |Ai-|Ais/Richtersveld Transfrontier Park is a combination of South Africa's Richtersveld National Park and Namibia's |Ai-|Ais Hot Springs Game Park, formed in 2003; a border post, the Sendelingsdrift, was opened in 2007 to enable people to cross the border within the park, and there are immigration offices on both sides of the Orange River, the longest river in South Africa which runs through the park.

Despite the low average annual rainfall, the park is home to over 300 varieties of plants, including the halfmens, a tall succulent. As you can probably tell from the photo, the landscape is harsh and rugged, with moisture coming from morning fog. On the Namibian side lies Fish River Canyon, Africa's largest canyon and a popular hiking trail.