Abéché

© Roy Digital Design

Abéché is a small town with some 80,000 inhabitants, located in the east of Chad, about 500 km from the capital. Abéché looks somewhat different than most other towns in the country. It used to be one of the stopovers on the Arabic slave trade route and there are many mosques, narrow streets lined with old neglected buildings and colorful markets that give Abéché an oriental atmosphere.

You can visit several markets, mosques, a church, the main square, called the Place de l'Indépendance and the sultan's palace.

In 2006 Abéché was overrun by a rebel group that tried to oust president Idriss Déby and looted. In the nearby town of Biltine, the same occurred. Both towns were later retaken by the national army.

Abéché has an irregular air service to N'Djamena. The only other ways to get there are by own means of transportation, by taxi or trying to hitch with one of the trucks bringing goods to the area. Although the distance is only 500 km, the trip can take up to 3 days, depending on the condition of the roads.