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West Africa, Malta and the Balkans in 1999
SENEGAL
Bec2004-09-18 19:30:58
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Saint Louis
I had been lucky to get through the Mauritanian border formalities without paying a bribe and lady luck stayed with me as I met this gentleman on the ferry as he was crossing the Senegal river in the chauffeur driven Mitsubishi Pajaro 4 wheel drive vehicle behind us. He turned out to be the mayor of Rosso (and ex transport minister of Mauritania), going to Dakar on business with a short stop in Saint Louis where I was going. We had a most interesting conversation on African politics during the 100 km drive until he dropped me off here next to the Faidherbe bridge.
I envy the elegance (and probably comfort) of the traditional blue mauritanian robes...
I had hardly thanked my mauritanian friend (whose name I did not get), that I met a French couple who took me across the Faidherbe bridge and brought me to the Saint Louis youth hostel where I was made welcome and given a fine room for only 9 US$. That evening, a bunch of us from the hostel went to a nearby restaurant where we enjoyed an excellent chicken dinner with beer for 4 $US$.
Rue Khalifa, one of the six north-south streets.
Colonial Saint Louis is a narrow island in the Senegal river close to where it flows into the Atlantic. It was a slave trading post for more than two centuries (like Gorée island near Dakar), before becoming the gateway for French expansion into West Africa in the mid 19th century.
Mosques like this one on rue de France are a common the sight in Senegal as almost 90 percent of the population is Muslim. In principle, Muslims believe that everyone can have a direct access to God but the form of Islam practiced here has fallen under the influence of a clergy that enjoys the benefits of considerable secular power (here, the privileges of the marabouts are similar to those of the mollahs in Iran).
The Abdoulaye Mar Diop boulevard facing the west arm of the Sénégal river is now a parking
...
See photographs from:
Senegal Gallery
