Dakar is the capital of Senegal, on the Atlantic coast of West Africa. It is a seaport and one of the largest industrial centres in that part of Africa. People who follow motor sport may know the Dakar Rally, a very long desert race that used to finish there — though actually the race later moved, and only kept the name. The city name is uncertain; it may come from a Wolof word for the tamarind tree, but that is not sure. In English it is a place name: you go to Dakar, you fly into Dakar.