Joal-Fadiouth

Joal-Fadiouth is a twin town at the southern end of the Petite Côte, southeast of Dakar in the Thiès region: Joal on the mainland, Fadiouth on a nearby island, the two linked by a wooden footbridge. Fadiouth's island was built up over centuries from discarded clam and oyster shells left behind by generations of shellfish harvesting, and its shells now form the streets, house foundations, and building material of the settlement. A second shell island nearby holds the town's cemetery, notable as one of the few places in Senegal where Christian and Muslim graves share the same burial ground in distinct but undivided sections — a reflection of the roughly 90% Christian population of Fadiouth in an otherwise overwhelmingly Muslim country.

About 100 km south of Dakar (2 hours).

• Fadiouth Shell Island — The entire island is built on shells.
• Fadiouth Cemetery — The shell-based cemetery where Muslim and Christian graves coexist.

• Mbour (15 km north).
• Saly (20 km north).
• Sokone (40 km south).