Seven selected enclaves of African history (on my journey)

For: Javier Brandoli (text and photos)
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The end of the year is perfect time to take stock. Here I drop my stereotype and was so quiet, that it has a blog, to tell what you like and to ask the kind readers who are condescending to the texts made in dates of long nights and excesses. The thing is that now we approach the end of the year, 2010 has been memorable and hopefully repeatable, I look back and remember my seven months in Africa with nostalgia and hope, in two weeks as I catch a plane to go live without my beloved continent again return date (this has to show what I have advanced English). Chew the grapes smell of damp earth of Uganda, the wood of the baobab of Botswana or the dry powder of the Namibian road. But this is a page we do for love of the thing getting lost on the roads and to understand history, so I thought to remember seven locations, as more than seven months I was there, which for me had a special meaning in my quest to trace the past. Two months ago I went back and 15 day I still waiting to leave; As I dream of returning to places like these.

Cape Agulhas: South South (South Africa)

The southernmost point of Africa, where they embrace the Indian and Atlantic. For centuries it was believed at the Cape of Good Hope where he turned the corner in Africa, but it is a few miles south where Basque vessels Range, Magellan and Elcano made those journeys that led them to open unknown routes. There is a huge mark on this historic and symbolic place.

Robbben Island: Mandela's cell (South Africa)

An island eight miles from Cape Town. The prison where Mandela was imprisoned 18 years. A symbol of barbarism that was apartheid South Africa. Shudders across the walls and hear the stories of where they entered prison on suspicion of wanting to live free; where blacks ate less than mestizos; where there was torture; where he forged a shadow government in which Mandela was a teacher; where prisoners have been only three presidents since the South African democracy; donde…

Kolmannskuppe: Diamond Mine and sand (Namibia)

In southern Namibia, the ghost town of diamonds is now an abandoned village where the dunes are within the once splendid homes, the luxurious casino or large hospital. That is a symbol of European colonialism in which black slaves were almost, almost no rights, as he drew all the continent's natural resources. Here, when the first African x-ray machine, to see that workers are not wearing diamonds in the stomach. On one side of the luxurious life and the other miserable huts where the locals live.

Victoria Falls: smoke and thunder (Zimbabwe and Zambia)

The 16 November 1855, David Livingstone became the first European to discover Victoria Falls. This spectacular natural setting is a symbol of the beautiful stories of explorers that kicked West Africa in the nineteenth century, conditions that we now seem unlikely, to fill the unknown African map. The location of the smoke and thunder, as they called Indians, an appointment is inexcusable for those who love this continent, its nature and history.

Chitambo: it abandoned tomb Livingstone (Zambia)

Arriving at the grave of Livingstone, and Chitambo, a village lost and inaccessible northern Zambia, was my most emotional moment of the trip. What was so hard it was to get there and so nostalgic place. A stone in which are buried the heart and viscera of the Scottish explorer who was not on anyone (I did when I was six days in which no one signed in the guestbook proudly teaches the girl who acts as a guide and lives in a shack near). The tomb is covered with leaves and dust. About, in the narrow path leading up there, children leave the road to hear a car to yell "mzungu, mzungu” (white man). Really special.

Stone Town: City of slaves (Tanzania)

The capital of Zanzibar is a cluster of alleys, Arab style and colonial, with old palaces, And something decadent, reminiscent of their former splendor. Splendor with a bitter taste, since there was the largest slave market in Africa. From there out the hunting expeditions of Arab men and brought them to sell in its strong market. Along with the Anglican cathedral can be visited today the cells where men and women locked up, like cattle, waiting to be shipped to Asia or North America as human merchandise. City, one of the most fun and friendly and I have gone through, still has the stale mark all the time. Full of charm.


Tombs of Buganda Kings: the court turned to ashes (Uganda)

In Uganda it is clear that the place with more historical significance are the sources of the Nile, but I prefer to note the Tombs of the Kings of Buganda known for its history and meaning and highly topical. In March this pantheon, which symbolizes the many African monarchies burned centennial, result of the action of an arsonist, sparking a contentious street in the capital of Uganda, Kampala. There, in what was a court, four kings are buried. Speke went there (discoverer of the Nile Sources) and later Stanley, although by then the court had moved to the nearby hill Rubaga. Work is underway to rebuild the mausoleum and palace protected by Unesco 2001.

Are only seven places, with a historical burden that can be used as an excuse to travel to Africa 2011.

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Comments (2)

  • home

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    We leave that 2010 only repeat to you???
    I hope the next year summary

    Answer

  • Jocaro

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    I ask all the destinations for Reyes!!! Great trip, friend

    Answer

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