{UAH} President Mobutu's ruined jungle paradise, Gbadolite - in pictures

Urban decay

President Mobutu's ruined jungle paradise, Gbadolite - in pictures

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The president of what was then Zaire lavished millions on a palace complex and international airport in the remote town of Gbadolite. Guardian photographer Sean Smith heads for the jungle to document the pitiful shell that remains

Where Concorde once flew: the story of Mobutu's 'African Versailles'

Sean Smith in Gbadolite

Tue 10 Feb 2015 13.04 GMTLast modified on Fri 11 May 2018 13.16 BST

• A mural of former President Mobutu outside the mayor's office in Gbadolite. When Joseph Desire Mobutu took power he renamed himself Mobutu Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu Waza Banga (meaning 'the all-powerful warrior who, because of endurance and an inflexible will to win, will go from conquest to conquest leaving fire in his wake')

  Photograph: Sean Smith for the Guardian

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• The air-traffic control tower of Gbadolite's international airport, whose runway is long enough to accommodate Concorde. Now it welcomes only two or three tiny aircraft a week from the UN and a commercial operator

  Photograph: Sean Smith for the Guardian

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• Inside the abandoned control tower

  Photograph: Sean Smith for the Guardian

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• The VIP arrivals terminal: Pope John Paul II, UN secretary-general Boutros Boutros Ghali and American televangelist Pat Robertson may have all passed through here

  Photograph: Sean Smith for the Guardian

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• Inside the main airport terminal

  Photograph: Sean Smith for the Guardian

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• The main terminal at Gbadolite airport

  Photograph: Sean Smith for the Guardian

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• The Water Ministry building was never finished and is now used as a school

  Photograph: Sean Smith for the Guardian

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• Inside the school

  Photograph: Sean Smith for the Guardian

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• The Motel Nzekele, built by Mobutu, had five stars when it opened in 1979

  Photograph: Sean Smith for the Guardian

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• The motel's empty swimming pool. Guests reportedly included the pope, the Belgian king and French president François Mitterrand

  Photograph: Sean Smith for the Guardian

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