So after we visited Hammamet, we went to the capital of Tunisia, Tunis. We didn't go to the heart of Tunis, because a month ago, there were some heavy protests there. People came out on the streets because they were not satisfied with the prime minister and his regime. A lot of people died there. They were shot or burned themselves out of anger. A week later, Ben ali and his family left the country for reasons of personal safety.
Because of all the protests, the economy in Tunisia is at its lowest point. Shops were destroyed during the protests and a lot of poor people have stolen food in the shops. The government promised some reforms. Now, the people here don't get enough money to survive. They have to live in very bad conditions. I hope that one day, they will have a good government that looks after them and make sure that they can live the life they dream of.
After all this misery, we decided to go to Medina. A lovely place in Tunis. Medina exist out of 2 parts. You have the old Medina, where you can find a lot of charming streets and squares, and you have the other part that was built by the French people in the 19th century. Medina is also a member of the UNESCO world heritage.
Tourists may think that Tunisia is a very beautiful country, but when you look deeper, you can see that it is a country with a lot of poverty and problems. I hope they will have a better life when all of their problems are gone.
After visiting Algeria we moved on to Hammamet. When we arrived in Tunisia, it looked like a rich and prosperous country. But we had to change our opinion quickly when we decided to make a round trip of two days through the country.
The first day we took a taxi towards a local market. The taxi was so old that it could collapse any moment. After the hellish taxi ride, we arrived to the market place. The donkeys were walking on the street, the fruit was sold from a car and fish was exposed in the heat. There was not a single tourist in sight. Because of that the local vendors tried to persuade us to buy something. The market left a strong impression on us!
After the visit we left with a whole group with a bus to the Sahara. Along the way we first made a stop to enjoy the endless views of the salt desert. There we saw for the first time in our lives a mirage, which happens a lot in the salt desert. After that visit we moved towards the Sahara. The scenery en route was monotonous, earth and olive trees with occasional decrepit houses. Along the road we saw numerous stalls selling fruit and illegal filling stations where petrol was sold in bottles.
After a long drive we arrived in the Sahara. The dromedaries were ready to carry us through the desert. Armed with special clothing against the sun and sand, we left for a scenic drive through the desert. It was e great experience and a very special feeling. After a ride of an hour we went all sleeping.
The next morning we were ready for our new adventure. We had a jeep safari through the Atlas Mountains. It was a hot day but the jeeps were well equipped with air conditioning. The ride was very bumpy but really cool. After the jeep had driven into the mountains, we went on foot. It was such a beautiful view which well never forget!
The last thing we had to visit was Matmata. This is a city where people live in a kind of caves. Many people asked the question whether they are really living there or that it is just a tourist attraction. It was a great experience to take a close look to those special homes and way of living. It was very hotbut we had a lot of fun.
After this round trip we had seen a lot of poverty.Tunisia is a poor country where there is a large difference between rich and poor. It has fascinated us and we have enjoyed it!
After we visited Algiers, we went to
Constantine. Because the city is on a plateau at 640 metres above sea level, it
is surrounded by a deep ravine. The city is very picturesque with a lot of
bridges and a viaduct crossing the ravine. This was very impressive to see. In Constantine
they produce textiles, wool, linen and leather, which they sell in the rest of
Algeria and Tunisia. In my opinion, Constantine is as developed as Algiers. We
walked through the city and also visited some mosques here. I think they are
amazing.
Because Algeria is a former colony of Algeria,
some people could speak French. This was very interesting for us because the
other languages there are Arabic and Berber, languages we cant speak at all.
In 1962, the French president Charles de Gaulle allowed Algeria to become
independent and it became a republic.
The current president is Abdelaziz Bouteflika, he was chosen by the army. Somebody
there told us that there have been many demonstrations for political reform,
but the police always intervened. Indeed, there was a state of emergency in
Algeria where it was forbidden to protest, but recently, the 19-year-old state
of emergency has ended. We ourselves havent seen a demonstration at all.
Tomorrow we are heading forward to Tunisia, the
last country we will visit in Africa.
Today we arrived in our third country Algeria. Because of the quick arrival, we visited Algiers today. Algiers is the capital and very attractive for tourists. But is has not always been so save. In the past, if you wanted to visit Algiers by boat, you had to make sure the pirates didn't get you. Once arrived in the capital, you were not allowed to eat in front of the people there, because of their religion.
Knowing that, I didn't felt so save in Algiers. But while we were walking through the capital, my fear dissapeared. I've seen beautiful things, like the Mosque of Djemaa Djedid, the Bay of Algiers and the mountains.
Algeria is divided in two different parts, the Sahara and the Maghreb. The Maghreb is formed by the countries Algeria, Lybia, Morocco, Mauritania and Tunisia. It is a sort of economic union.
I hope we will see a lot of beautiful things too tomorrow on our trip through Algeria. I'll post some picture of Algiers, so you can see how beautiful it is here.
Greetings, Julie
Here you can see a picture of the Mosque and a picture of the Bay of Algiers.
Today we have arrived in Agadez. Agadez is the largest city in northern Niger. We have visited several things today.
First we went to Agadez Grand Mosque. In the tourist guide they say the Mosque was originally built in 1515 and is restored in 1844.
After visiting the Agadez Grand Mosque we went to the central marked in Agadez. The walking was very exhausting because it was very hot. While we were walking, there were some little children that were dancing on the street. It was very cute to see and we have filmed it for a short part. At the marked we walked around and bought some food, drinks and took a little break.
After visiting the central marked we went to the palace of Sultan. This is an important tourist attraction in Agadez. The palace is very beautiful and we visited it for two hours.
Since the time we have been in Niger we ate many rice, millet, beans and cassava. I heard this is because the most part of the population works in the agriculture and these are the major food crops of Niger. Agadez is also known for its camel market and its silver and leatherwork.
We finally arrived in Niger. Niger has experienced a lot of political instability and the country is confronted with coups.
We have visited the city Zinder. The locals call this city Damagaram. It is the second largest city of Niger. We have chosen to visit Zinder because it has a lot to offer.
First we went to Birni. This is a very old town where we visited a Mosque and the Sultans palace. It was really beautiful and interesting. After our first visit we already noticed that Niger is a very poor country.
We also went to Sabon Gari. It is the commercial center know for its large market. When we arrived at the market we immediately smelled the local herbs and of course we bought some typical local products.
Today we are leaving Nigeria and heading forward to Niger. We have planned to visit Kano in the late afternoon. Kano is known as the ancient commercial city. We were very interested in the city,because it attracts a lot of business people. It is hard to imagine that. Yesterday, we didn't see anything else but poverty and farmers...
In Kano you see a lot of men on the street. They are looking for food or money. You can't find any women on the street. Their place is in the house. They are not allowed to go outside, due to the strong subservience.
while we were in Kano, we visited the palace of the Emir. It was very beautiful, so we spent two hours watching the palace. When we left, we saw the central mosque. unfortunatelywe couldn't visit it, because you may not enter it when you are a christen. Here in Nigeria, 40% of the people are christen and 50% are Muslim.
After visiting Kano, we were transported to Katsina. Through rough and small paths we saw the poverty for the last time.
Welcome to the first post on our blog of our exciting trip from Nigeria to Norway!
Monday, the 14th of February Julie, Delphine,
Anouk and I met each other at the airport in Zaventem. First we had to fly to
London because there was no direct flight to Nigeria from Belgium. The flight took about 7 hours and it was already
5 a.m. when we arrived at the airport in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria. The
official language here is English, so we dont have any problems to express
ourselves.
In Abuja, I saw how poor people were. Ive heard that 34%
of the people in Nigeria live below the poverty line. They live in little huts.
We took an old bus to the small town. When we were there all the little
children just kept following us, it was really sweet. When we left they kept on
running with our bus. We made a little video of it.
Nigeria has a very tropical climate. We were in the
centre of Nigeria, so it was really dry. It practically doesnt rain at all
from November till April. We didnt mind because we were happy we could escape
from the awful Belgian weather, but it isnt that good for the farmers there.
Nigeria is a democracy and the current president is
Jonathan Goodluck. He is a member from the Peoples Democratic Party. A nice
fact about Goodluck is that he has a Facebookpage. He makes daily updates and
currently has over 490.000 fans. Before we went to Nigeria, I tried to read his
messages as much as possible.
