Ivory Coast palm wine. Ivorians have a particular kind of small, open-air restaurant called a "maquis", which is unique to the region. A "maquis" normally features braised chicken and fish covered in onions and tomatoes, served with "attiéké" or "kedjenou". Ivory Coast Ivory Coast or Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country located in West Africa. Ivory Coast's political capital is Yamoussoukro, while its economic capital and largest city is the port city of Abidjan. It borders Guinea and Liberia to the west, Burkina Faso and Mali to the north, Ghana to the east, and the Gulf of
History of Liberia the country, who constitute the majority of the population. Years of civil war have disrupted the country and its economy. Historians believe that many of the indigenous peoples of Liberia migrated there from the north and east between the 12th and 16th centuries AD. Portuguese explorers established contacts with people of the land later known as "Liberia" as early as 1462. They named the area "Costa da Pimentia" (Pepper Coast), or Grain Coast, because of the abundance of melegueta pepper, which became desired in European cooking. In 1602 the Dutch established a trading post at Grand Cape Mount but destroyed