To Oyo Ile

Old Oyo from Jeremy Weate on Vimeo.

In May 2007, we travelled deep into the Old Oyo National Park to visit the ruins of Oyo Ile, one of the most powerful empires of West Africa in its time. After over three hours driving from Ilorin into the forest, we finally reached the cave where Oranmiyan was led by the python. To this day, there is a python cave in the same spot. The national park guards were very wary when we walked close to the entrance; apparently the pythons can travel faster than you can run. There is scarcely anything left of the great empire; just a two foot high mud wall. Perhaps one day there'll be a museum and the place will be a bit more organised. For now, everything is left to the imagination. No bad thing in a way.