Centuries-old structures built by Afro-Brazilians crumbling

With a fine ceramic minaret, multicolored walls and a great, carved wooden door, the Grand Mosque in Benin's capital is a marvel of Afro-Brazilian architecture, yet like much in Porto Novo it faces collapse.

"It looks just like a church in all ways because the former slaves were used to building churches in Brazil," said Moubarak Mourchid, head of the city's heritage agency.

"They converted to Islam as a show of rebellion against their masters and when they came back to west Africa, they became craftsmen who used the building techniques they had learned over there," the historian told AFP.