Ndjamena
Capital of Chad, in the southwest of the country, at the confluence of the Chari and Logone rivers, on the Cameroon border; population (2000 est) 639,000. Industries include cotton, textiles, and meat packing. The city's agricultural markets trade in livestock, salt, dates, and grain. The Great Mosque, built 1974–78, is an important landmark. It is a staging point for many pilgrims from West Africa to Mecca.
History
Founded in 1900 by the French as Fort Lamy at the junction of caravan routes on the site of a fishing village, it was used 1903–12 as a military centre against the kingdoms of central Sudan. It was a strategic point during World War II.
