Archive for the ‘Random Photo of the Week’ Category

May
18
Filed Under (Random Photo of the Week) by Rob on 18-05-2011

The Amazing Nigerian Plane-House!

I must admit, I was somewhat gob-smacked to see this building on the outskirts of Abuja, Nigeria, recently. At first glance, it almost looks as if an aeroplane has crashed into the roof of the house. On closer examination, however, it is clear to see that the house was built to look like this, presumably by someone who really likes planes!

Wish I’d had the chance/courage to stop and ask for a tour of the house – must be fascinating inside! Back home in England, I doubt such a building would get planning-permission…



May
12
Filed Under (Ethnomusicology, Random Photo of the Week) by Rob on 12-05-2011

Doing a spot of recording on an Arts Course last summer.

One of the things we teach students on such courses is how to do decent field recordings of local music. This was me last September in Bamako, showing them in a practical way what to do.

Interestingly, I was doing exactly the same thing today, but in Jos, Nigeria. More on that to follow…



May
04
Filed Under (Random Photo of the Week) by Rob on 04-05-2011

A Renault 12 taxi in Sikasso

If you’re my age (or slightly younger) you may well remember travelling in a Renault 12 back in the 70s or early 80s; one of the only cars which look almost the same going backwards as forwards! I love ’em! Those funny little plastic levers to open the doors, and the interior was something else (see a great picture of the dash here). Here’s what mine looked like:

Many of these Renault Douze, it would seem, have found their way to southern Mali, and if you go to Sikasso, you’ll notice that around 70% of all its taxis are this make and model; bizarre and fascinating at the same time!

Folk who’ve been here long enough will tell you that these used to be in Bamako and then found their way ‘down country’ as more and more Mercedes 190s came in to replace them as the most common taxi make in the capital (more about those another time).

Interestingly, Romania continued making a car almost identical to the Douze until about a decade ago, called the Dacia 1320. There you go!



Apr
27
Filed Under (Random Photo of the Week) by Rob on 27-04-2011

A nice sunset over the Senegal River in Kayes



Apr
20
Filed Under (Random Photo of the Week) by Rob on 20-04-2011

A humungous termite mound, seen in Togo in 2005.

Now, I’m 5’7″ (and a half) tall, so this beast must be getting of for 20 feet tall. Amazing! I’ve never seen a larger one since, I have to say (and dread to think how many termites were living in this five-star insect sky-scraper; I didn’t investigate too far!) Mind you, for some folk termites are something of a delecacy, so this could be a great source of nutrition too! Click here for some tips on cooking edible winged termites, not to mention ‘flying ant stew’ (I didn’t make this up, really!)

If you like insects, don’t forget to have a butcher’s at my Creepie Crawlies Album, full of interesting African insects!



Apr
13
Filed Under (Random Photo of the Week) by Rob on 13-04-2011

A health warning seen in Sangha, Dogon Country:

Even without an understanding of French, the meaning of this one is pretty clear, I think: Use a bathroom, not a river for your ‘business’! You may laugh (and it made me laugh too), but in a country where being literate is far from universal, images like this are very useful for conveying important health messages like this one. It could even save lives! There you go.



Apr
06
Filed Under (General, Random Photo of the Week) by Rob on 06-04-2011

A painting of a man in a suit playing the djembe

Seen on a wall above a door in Ségou. A decidedly random image indeed, and not one I’ve ever seen in reality! Also, he seems to have lost part of his nose, oh, and you can play a djembe well with your leg sticking out like that, you really can’t!



Mar
30
Filed Under (Random Photo of the Week) by Rob on 30-03-2011

Chaotic traffic in Cotonou

Folk here complain about Bamako’s traffic and many cannot believe that anywhere worse exists. I can assure you, however, that Cotonou was between two and five times worse, depending on the location and time of day! This is partly because there were so many motorbike taxis (wearing yellow shirts), but also because there were more potholes, more overloaded vehicles and the ‘rules’ were not enforced as strictly. Bamako has police at virtually every major junction in the city and separate motorbike lanes on many major roads. As you can see from the photo above, Cotonou didn’t!

If you know both cities (or even if you don’t), have a look at these two blog posts, added shortly after our arrival in Bamako:

I prefer Bamako to Cotonou because…
and
I preferred Cotonou to Bamako because…



Mar
23
Filed Under (Random Photo of the Week) by Rob on 23-03-2011

Amadou Diabaté making a kora, next door to Toumani’s house

The kora is a 21-stringed ‘harp’ made from half a gourd, covered in goat’s skin and a long wooded pole (the neck) to which the strings are attached. There are basically three systems for attaching the strings (and therefore tuning them):

(i) The traditional leather rings (see a close-up here). Tuned by pushing/pulling the rings up and down the neck.
(ii) Wooden pegs: much easier to tune than the first, but can still slip. (Photo here.)
(iii) Western machine heads, ie the same as you’d find on a classical guitar (like this bloke is playing).

I bought one using system (i) and sooned wished I hadn’t: tuning it takes about half an hour and your finger nails hurt for days afterwards. Also, I just broke a string and the only way to replace it is to slide all the shorter strings down to the base and then retune! Nightmare. I’d recommend system (iii), as you can tune it in 5 minutes and it’s just so much easier. Even Toumani Diabaté himself recommended this kind to me when I had my lesson with him, so I’m really hoping to upgrade mine before I leave Mali!



Mar
16
Filed Under (Random Photo of the Week) by Rob on 16-03-2011

A cure for ‘water on the brain’???

I photographed this man selling towels back in April 2008, on my first visit to Bamako (blogged about here). He asked my for 500 francs for the privilege and I obliged! I saw the same guy a week or two ago, same towels and everything; were it not for this photo, I doubt I would have recognized him. Then again, how many guys have you ever met with 26 towels on their head (go on, count them!)