An Englishman Abroad: Africa

Showing posts with label Africa. Show all posts

Saturday, September 8, 2012

I've moved to Alexandria

I've been travelling since my last post. Journeys around Italy, Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan have been followed by a move from Salalah to my new home in Alexandria.

I have been lucky as I have found a little oasis of green in the heart of the city.

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Corner View - Zebra

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Libya

The road to the Sahara. Libya is the 4th largest country in Africa, and, apart from the narrow Mediterranean coastal strip where nearly all of the cities and people are concentrated, most of it is desert.

Downtown Tripoli.

Leptis Magna. Libya has some of the finet Classical Roman and Greek archaeological sites in the world. But, controls on visas and independent travel have limited tourism.

Freedom Square, Benghazi These old Italian colonial buildings have deliberately been left to decay by Gaddafi but they haven't been replaced by any new development so the country has been in limbo.

The Green Book Centre, Benghazi. This is one of the few modern buildings. It houses a library devoted to Gaddafi's Green Book. The street in front of it is notorious as one of the smelliest in the world. There has been little or no investement in infrastructure in Benghazi. Rubbish piles high in the streets and sewage oveflows.

The Gaddafi balcony, Green Square, Tripoli. This is the balcony from which Gaddafi gave his speeches.

A typical Benghazi apartment block with its obligatory Gaddafi poster. These posters have all been burnt in the past few days.

Benghazi airport.

I lived in Libya from 2006 to 2007. I have been watching the scenes of the revolution on TV, and it is little changed from then. In fact, the country hasn't really developed much since the Italians left. It has simply been left to decay. For such an oil-rich country, this is a travesty. You can understand why the people are so unhappy. I hope that after they overthrow the Gaddafi regime, they will be able to improve their lot.

I haven't included pictures of Libyan people, because I'd already posted them here:

LIBYAN PORTRAITS

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Corner View - Evening Sky

Salalah Beach, Oman

Koutoubia Mosque, Marrakesh, Morocco

Sana'a, Yemen

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Corner View - Organic Form

This week's theme, Organic Form, comes from Nadine.

The henna art and wall murals of Zanzibar, both, to my eyes, have organic forms and colours which grow naturally out of the earth.

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Corner View - Holiday Photos

I take every opportunity to travel, and so usually have three or four holidays each year. Last month I was in Tanzania. I did what I usually do: booked the flight and the first night's accommodation, and then took it from there. The result was a short stay in the capital city of Dar Es Salaam, some time on the exotic island of Zanzibar, and finally, a safari in Mikumi National Park, which is where these photos were taken. We were lucky to happen upon a lioness drinking at a water hole and then followed her back to her three cubs.

Next month I am going to Ethiopia, which will be my 102nd country. Only 91 more to go!