Ouaga — the film capital of Africa and home of the Mossi kings
Ouagadougou (known universally as Ouaga) is the proud, chaotic capital of Burkina Faso and the centre of African cinema — FESPACO, the Pan-African Film and Television Festival, is the continent's largest film festival and has been held here every two years since 1969. The food is hearty Sahelian: riz gras, brochettes de boeuf, and tô (millet paste) with a green leaf sauce, eaten in maquis outdoor restaurants lit by a single bulb.
Ouagadougou has been the capital of the Mossi Kingdom since the 15th century, when Naaba Wubri unified the Mossi peoples under a powerful centralised monarchy. The Moro Naaba (supreme chief of the Mossi) still holds court today, and the weekly Naaba ceremony — where the king appears in full regalia and symbolic war is almost declared — draws onlookers every Friday morning. France colonised the territory in 1896 as part of French West Africa; Burkina Faso became independent in 1960.