Category Archives: Africa

Moroccan people watching

Posted on January 21, 2015 by

I love sitting back and watching a city going by, its citizens minding their own businesses. It feels like being a silent observer, one of those grey men that Michael Ende wrote about in Momo, just without the cigar and the … Continue reading →

Posted in Africa, Morocco, Random memories | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Marrakech: impressions from an ochre city

Posted on January 17, 2015 by

“My name is Mustapha, I come from the Sahara, I am a Saharawi. Please, please come see the textiles woven by my women”. Mustapha might really be a Saharawi, it’s been a long time since the plight of his people has … Continue reading →

Posted in Africa, Morocco, Overlooked locations | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Irrelevant differences: visiting Mellah, the Jewish quarter of Marrakech

Posted on January 14, 2015 by

“Est-ce que ceci a été le quartier juif, donc?” Is this the old Jewish quarter, I ask, rather timorously, to my self-appointed guide. It’s Sunday, the day that will pass to history for the biggest gathering of people in a single … Continue reading →

Posted in Africa, Faith, Morocco, Overlooked locations, Politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Travelling through a country’s music – Mali

Posted on December 14, 2014 by

It all started with two groups and neither of them were Malian. Ofo The Black Company was the first and I discovered them in the Botswana special of Top Gear: James May was overtaking, in a old and battered beige … Continue reading →

Posted in Africa, Music review, Reflections | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

“The Bang Bang Club”, by G. Marinovich & J. Silva, Arrow

Posted on June 21, 2014 by

Travel literature, in my humble opinion, is quite a large category. At the end of the day most travel books are about someone – the writer, usually – arriving somewhere and doing something. And, if this approach is to be … Continue reading →

Posted in Africa, Books review, South Africa, War journalism | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

“The Cruellest Journey”, by Kira Salak, Bantam

Posted on June 8, 2014 by

“In the beginning, my journeys feel at best ludicrous, at worst insane. This one is no exception. The idea is to paddle nearly 600 miles on the Niger River in a kayak, alone, from the Malian town of Old Ségou … Continue reading →

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