Dassa-Zoumé | |
---|---|
Commune and city | |
Location in Benin | |
Coordinates: 07°45′00″N 02°11′00″E / 7.75000°N 2.18333°E | |
Country | Benin |
Department | Collines Department |
Area | |
• Total | 661 sq mi (1,711 km2) |
Population (2013) | |
• Total | 112,118 |
Time zone | WAT (UTC+1) |
Dassa-Zoumé, often shortened to Dassa, is a city in Benin, on the Cotonou to Parakou railway and the main north-south highway. The commune covers an area of 1711 square kilometres and as of 2013 had a population of 112,118 people. Jama'at Islamique Ahmadiyya Benin has built its central Mosque (Mosquee Moubarqiue) here in 2010. It is a beautiful mosque with a tall, 18-meter minaret just outside the city on main road towards Parakou. Jama'at Islamique Ahmadiyya Benin has also built French English bilingual primary school 'Ecole Primaire Publique AHMADIYYA'. www.ahmadiyyabenin.org
The population of Dassa town migrated from the Egba subgroup in the western Yoruba country in present-day Nigeria to settle in the present day location. The city is known as a place of pilgrimage, the Virgin Mary said to have appeared in La Grotte Marial Notre Dame d'Arigbo, around which a basilica has since been built, containing several shrines. The city is also known for its surrounding forests Igbo-Idasa.
Coordinates: 07°45′N 02°11′E / 7.750°N 2.183°E