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1995

Djibouti - Cairo to Capetown

Bec
2004-09-20 13:04:35

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Djibouti
Djibouti is only a short hop from San'a. I got here in the afternoon, found a room at the Dar es Salaam Hotel where I met three other travellers with whom I went for dinner in the center of town, on the other side of Place Mahmoud Harbi shown here.

Diner with Steve, Michel and Tamzen in rue de Bir Hakeim. Meeting other adventurers like this is not uncommon. Michel Louis with the blue T shirt was a retired professional from Grenoble France, (I forgot which profession and it does not matter), who was discovering the world as I am. He was on his way home after a two month tour of Ethiopia, Eritrea and Yemen. Steve was an Californian on a two year world tour with the British Tamzen. We had similar interests so we got on beautifully. I wish they would see this someday!

Ferry by crowded "boutre" from Djibouti on the south shore to Tadjoura on the north shore of the bay.

I found Djibouti dirty, primitive and very expensive. Djibouti is independent but the French still maintain a several thousand military personnel who provide a demand for the active red light district on Bir Hakeim street. The port's throughput is essentially for Ethiopia for there is little development here. Fifty four percent of the population cannot read or write and only 23 % of children 12 to 17 go to school.

The Presidential Palace is closely watched and difficult to approach.

I found Djibouti interesting as a perfect example of an artificial country created by a European power to suit its strategic aims with no regard to the demographic realities of the territory used for that purpose, playing the Issa against the Afar and vice versa according to circumstances.

I had planned to take the train to Addis Abeba but decided to join Steve and Tam, who were going to Assab on the Red Sea, and enter Ethiopia by the road border crossing at Galafi. There is no regular transport to Galafi but a mini van goes ...