Ancient & Modern

Ancient and Modern

The old city walls date back to the year 1053 and are several metres thick and the same in height. There is a ditch on the outside which makes them look more impressive and far more difficult to invade. They have lasted over a thousand years of weathering and though not intact can still be seen along much of their original length and later extended to 25 km in length. The German Government have helped rebuilding some of the walls. They are made from clay mixed with straw.

There were originally 15 gates called ‘Kofars’ that lead in and out of the old city. These have long gone but have been replaced with modern equivalents. When the British Army invaded in 1903, their canons were no match for the ancient metal panelled doors. Some of the old gate doors can be seen at the Gidan Makama Museum. This is a 15^th Century house that is now an ancient monument and was originally the Emir’s Palace before the new one was built. In the museum we saw shields made from skin. They might have originally been made using elephant’s ears! Bows and arrows were the weapon of choice followed by the spear, then sword or dagger.

The original kingdom was invaded by Jihadists who defeated the king and set up a new ruler called an Emir. The current Emir lives in his palace and he is nearly 80 years old and is called Emir Alhaji Ado Bayero. Nigeria became independent in 1960.