Here are some of the most impressive lake villages composed of floating or stilted houses around the world.
Makoko Lake Villages in Lagos, Nigeria
Makoko is the world’s largest floating city spread out beneath the busiest bridge of West Africa’s megalopolis. The location of this slum creates a huge problem for Nigeria. Considering the slum an embarrassment, the State Ministry of Waterfront Infrastructure Development issued a 72-hour quit notice on July 12, 2012. Four days later, a group of machete-wielding men laid siege to the slum. Then the assault went stronger when the demolition workers set fire to the houses and deployed armed police who allegedly fired gunshots at the residents. By the time the eviction was suspended, 30,000 people had become homeless. today, Makoko’s estimated population is 250.000 people most of whom live under terrible conditions.
Ganvie Village, aka Venice of Africa, in Lake Nokokué, Benin
The Ganvie Village is a 400-year-old village founded by the Tofinu tribe who fled from the soldiers of the Fon and Dahomey kingdoms who sold people to Portuguese traders in the 18th century. The escaping ancestors chose to build stilted houses in the middle of the water, founding the Ganvié Village which means “we escaped” in the local language.
Ko Panyi, Thailand
Garden of Eden, aka Venice of Mesopotamia, in Iraq
The Sudd in Sudan
