They needed this state for its good position and they used Banjul as a trading point and a base for the slave trade. Banjul was first formerly named Bathurst after Henry Bathurst, the secretary of the British Colonial Office. Banjul is a port city, which is situated on St. Mary’s Island where the Gambia River enters the Atlantic Ocean. It is the only large urban area in Gambia and it is the country’s economic, administrative centre and seat of the government. Banjul is one of the smallest capital cities in Africa. Its population is about 50 000. It serves for exporting goods into the West African states and the other states of the world. They export peanut, peanut oil, palm kernels. The peanut industry represents nearly 90% of the Gambia’s national income. The Gambia’s major trading partners are for example Japan, Senegal, Hong Kong, France, China, UK,…
City is connected with the interior and Senegal via a ferry across the Gambia River and by the Banjul-Serekunda Highway. The Gambia’s international airport is at Yundum, 20km southwest from Banjul. It is served by scheduled and charter flights to and from Western Europe and other African states, with connections to other parts of the world. An airport tax is US$20. The Gambia has no railroads. The busy heart of Banjul is Albert Market, a good place to pass a couple of hours walking and shopping for clothes, shoes, fruits or vegetables. Nearby on MacCarthy Square there is the War Memorial and the Fountain, built to commemorate the coronation of the British King George VI. The visitors can see the National Museum of the Gambia, where are the photos, maps and texts about archaeology placed. Not far off there is Arch 22, which is the tallest building in the Gambia. This building has 35m and it was built to celebrate the military coup of 22nd July 1994. The next landmarks are the State House and the minarets of the king Fuad Mosque.
When the tourists want to enter the Gambia they must have the vaccination against tick-borne encephalitis, hepatitis, yellow fever, rabies, typhoid fever and malaria.
The best time to travel there is from November to February, when the conditions are dry and relatively cool. However, around this same time, the dry wind called haramattan blows from Sahara. From December to February there is the local trading season, so the markets are very busy. During the wet season (June-October) the tourist areas are empty. In the capital the travellers can lodge only in three hotels: Apollo Hotel (2 star), Carlton Hotel (3 star) and Atlantic Hotel, which is very luxury and it is 5 star.