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West Africa, Malta and the Balkans in 1999

NIGER

Bec
2004-09-18 20:10:33

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had a taxi drive me to the Catholic Mission which was closed of course but the night watchman opened up and let me sleep in the Chapel until the morning service.

Then, I was given this very comfortable room with private bath for the ridiculously low price of only 5.50&US. If you travel to Niamey, don't miss it, there is also a common kitchen and dining room where you can meet other travellers.

You can see from my bag on the floor that I travel light, it weighs between 8 and 10 kilos, depending on how many books I'm carrying.

Ibrah, seated in front of me, teaches physics at the Abdou Moumouni University. A bachelor, he prepared an excellent dinner which his friend Abdoulaye Hassoumi Garba and I are enjoying in his home.

Ibrah and Abdoulaye drove me around Niamey. The "Assemblée Nationale" is Niger's legislative body, it is here that democracy will be exercised if and when it returns to this country.

It might seem strange to see camels in a modern city but one must keep in mind that Niamey is at the edge of the desert where camels are still a very efficient means of transport. We were just going to the University but these big guys crossing the bridge over the Niger with us could have been going all the way to Burkina Faso.

We also drove by Niamey's attractive "Grande Mosquée". An overwhelming majority of the people (85%), are Sunni Muslims but they practice a tolerant variety of that faith and beer it is available for whoever wants it.

The tall fellow in the coloured shirt is my Tuareg friend Ahmed Wacho in front of the house of his friend Mohammed Nanzoul (in blue), whose wife had prepared a typical Tuareg dinner for us. Writing this six months later, I don't remember exactly what we had to eat but I do remember that it was interesting and very good and more importantly that the hospitality was just extraordinary.

These two ...