A Brief Tour of Dakar

So here's the low down on the city I'll call home for the next 6 weeks. Dakar is ocean on three sides which means a beach and a cool breeze are never too far away. I live in the Mermoz neighborhood and walk to the West African Resource Center (WARC) in Fann for class. I'm staying with the Sow family which includes Papa Ibrahima, Maman Coumba and my host brothers Ousmene and Moustapha.

So far I've explored the beaches in Yoff and Ngor. Like most of Dakar they're stunning if slightly obscured by a layer of refuse. 

I've also taken in some of Dakar's most famous monuments. The Millenium Door was built in 2000 to herald in the new millenium. There are three doors representing Senegal, Africa and the world each opening up to each other. The door stands on the divide between the political district where French colonials displaced the local residents when they moved the capital and the rest of the city traditionally inhabited by the native Senegalese. The economics of this division can still be seen in the architecture of the districts today. The current administration has made an effort to place political offices and thus prestige and cash throughout the city and so the old lines are beginning to blur.

The African Renaissance Monument is even more controversial. This statue is truly enormous and towers over the city. It cost about $30 million USD and former President Wade collects 35% of its profits. Senegal is predominantly Muslim and Imams objected to its depiction of human forms. Finally the entire family points to the West, away from Africa.

Finally, we visited the Ile de Gorée. A former slave trading post now converted to a historic site, souvenir market, and public beach. The island is stunningly beautiful but soaked with a terrible history. The Slave House stands as yet another stark contrast that I've come to expect from Dakar. A lush and beautiful exterior hides a place of sheer inhumanity and atrocities I'm neither qualified nor inclined to recount. Outside of the historic area, Ile de Gorée is quite lively. Agressive vendors lobby with the sounds of children's football matches for one's attention and a mercifully cool breeze stirs the air. 

Dakar is a funny little place but it's growing on me quite readily.