Tuesday - April 17, 2018

Tuesday – April 17, 2018

Dakar is one of Senegal’s largest cities with a population of just under 3 million. As we boarded the bus for our Dakar Highlights tour, we could not help but notice the layer of dust on everything. The winds carry Sahara Sand everywhere. Cars left parked for any length of time have comments written in the sand dust on the windows. The vendors setting up the market on the pier were wiping the dust off of their wares. We would see more of them later.

After passing the train station and the Presidential Palace, we stopped to visit the cathedral. In a country that is 95% Muslim it was surprising to find this Catholic edifice. It was an interesting experience.

Our next stop was the Great Mosque. We could not enter this beautiful structure, but we did walk around its exterior. Also on the grounds were the boys’ and girls’ schools where the children learn the tenets of their religion from the age of 3. They are well grounded in religious precepts before they enter the public school system. Our guide emphasized that there is no conflict among religions here. All are allowed to practice their own faith,

After passing the large grounds of the University of Dakar, we made our way to the Sand Painting Gallery. Here we were given a demonstration of this Senegalese art before viewing the gallery. We had an opportunity to purchase works of varying size and quality at commensurate prices. This is not an art form that appeals to us. We took a pass.

Would you believe that our next stop was at a market. This handicraft village is touted as a souvenir market. I did buy a “leather” belt here. I say it is a “leather” belt because in looking at the cutoff piece on the bus I found that it is a sandwich of 2 thin pieces of leather with a rubbery plastic in the middle. It was sort of sized for me, but that turned out to be too long. I did watch the man make the adjustments, so I will be able to fix it back at home.  We did not find anything else to purchase here. We were thinking that the market on the pier would meet our needs.

Now we were on our way to the African Renaissance Monument. This is a 160 tall statue of iron and bronze. It was fabricated by North Korea. It is tuning in its massiveness and artistry. The plaza on which it is built complements it well. From this vantage point we could climb the 180 steps to get up close and personal. NOT!

On a high point near the monument is the lighthouse of Marnelles. It still operates today. Midway between the statue and the lighthouse is a beautiful mosque, The Deity Mosque. We did not stop there, but we did get some nice pictures of it from the monument plaza.

Now, back at the pier, we walked the markets. The few things that we found of interest were highly over-priced when compared to our other experiences. The one piece of fabric that we considered buying was offered at $95. The custom has been to counter at a third of the asking price and negotiate from there. The vendor took the fabric out of my hands when he heard my offer and threw it on the pile. No Deal! Oh well.

Dakar has left us with the impression that it is another very large and crowded city. Unemployment is 40%. That is why so many men are street vendors. They sell whatever they can, including their own property. Their hard life is not made any easier by the dirty environment. This relates to not just the air quality, but also the filth in the streets. Dakar has been a good, but sad, experience.