Ouagadougou, also known as Wagadugu, is the capital of Burkina Faso. The name may look daunting at first, but with some practice it will roll off your tongue with all its rhythmical musicality. If that is too much, you can do as the locals do and call it Ouaga. But Ouagadougou has a bit more to it than a cool name. It's an ancient city of one of the West African empires, for one.

The land was originally ruled by the Ninsi people, who founded the city in the 11th century and called it Kombemtinga, land of warriors. The Ninsi (or Nyonyosé) must have grown tired of fighting, for after some time they yielded it to the Mossi people, and the town was renamed Wogdgo, "come and venerate". There are two versions as to how this happened. The official Mossi story says that the Ninsi sent envoys to Emperor Zougrana of the Mossi to ask for protection from the neighbouring peoples. The emperor obligingly sent them his son, Oubri. Others say the Mossi conquered the area without any invitation whatsoever, and that the resistance was bloody, but unsuccessful.

In 1441, Ouagadougou became capital of the Mossi empire, and was governed by the Mogho Naba, ruler of the world. Emperor Naba Sanem moved his permanent quarters to the area in 1681, and the town grew up around his palace. By the time Europeans came by, it was a mega-village of 5,000 inhabitants.

Located almost 800 km from the coast, east of the River Niger, the city of Ouagadougou remained a secretive legend to colonisers from Europe who were traversing the globe in their aggressive manner. By the start of the 19th century it had still to be visited by a white man - it was part of "Darkest Africa". This was amended by the 1870s, when several expeditions came to have a look. The French in particular showed a great interest in Ouagadougou and its surroundings. With perfect French politesse, they asked the Mogho Naba permission to take over his lands - when he refused, they sent an army, which captured the city in 1896. Ouagadougou became the capital of their new colony, and a fort was constructed on the site where the royal palace had been located before the French razed it.

Upper Volta was formed from several smaller colonies in 1919, and Ouaga became its capital. It suffered a fall from glory in 1932, when Upper Volta was partitioned. However, when the state was brought back together again in 1947, the city reclaimed its old importance and quickly grew. A railway line to Abidjan in Côte d'Ivoire was finished in 1954.

Although the Mossi lost their power to European colonists, there is still a Mogho Naaba in Ouagadougou. The population of the city today is half Mossi, half other. The Mossi, with a tradition for organisation and ruling, therefore have most of the political power in the city as well as in the country.

And although The French have left Burkina Faso, the country's capital includes many a souvenir from their colonial time. Along the river, there is a park called Bois de Boulogne. A main street is called Boulevard de Gaulle - then again, another one is called Avenue de la Liberté.

Burkina Faso is one of the poorest countries in the world, but its capital manages to keep an international air of sophistication about it, and is known as a cultural beacon in West Africa. It hosts internatonal art and film festivals such as the Salon International de l'Artisanant Africain (an African arts and crafts show), the Panafrican Film and Television Festival (FESPACO), and the Jazz à Ouaga. As a bit of a regional centre for West Africa it also hosts many international conferences.

Ouagadougou is mainly a centre for administration and trade, but there are also several small to large-scale industries situated here, producing among other things food, beverages, tobacco, paper, chemicals and textiles. The population is about 750,000.