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Wednesday, December 13, 2006

Welcome to Africa

AFRICA IN GENERAL

Africa, usually refered to as the dark continent, is considered to be the cradle of humanity, and it had one of the greatest civilizations in the world – Egypt. Paper was invented in Egypt and in South Africa the first heart transplant ever made took place. Africa inspired Frederick Forsyt (The Dogs of War), Alex Haley (Roots), Suzanne Wenger (sculptures/Nigeria), Dr Livingstone and Henry Stanley, Dian Fossey (gorillas), Jane Goodall (Chimpanzees), and who didn't hear of Albert Schweitzer. Did you know that Voodoo originated from Benin? Many Diamonds are found in several sub Saharan regions. One carat of diamond is 0.2 gram. That means a 5 carat diamond (costing at least $5,000) weighs only 1 gram. The Cullinan is the biggest diamond ever. It weighs 3106 carats! It was discovered in South Africa on the site of the Premier Mines. It was given to King Edward as a birthday gift. Originally it was evaluated at around 150,000 English pounds.

Nature

Unique wildlife can be encountered in the East African Wild Kalahari and Serengeti plains, and in Kruger Park in South Africa, with Elephants, rhinos, gorillas, zebra, and wildebeests. Africa has impressive waterfalls (Victoria), spectacular rainforest sceneries, and oases in the Sahara being the greatest desert on earth. There are many tall mountains in East Africa. Mount Kilmanjaro, the continent's largest peak, is a volcano that is no longer active. Kilmanjaro is located near the equator, but is so high that its peak is always covered with snow. Many lakes have formed in the Great Rift Valley. Lake Victoria, on the border of Uganda, Tanzania, and Kenya, is the world's second largest freshwater lake. Victoria is a source of the Nile, the world's longest river. It is also a source of Lake Tanganyika, a lake in the Great Rift Valley that is almost a mile deep.

The People

The African continent is a mosaic of 3,000 ethnic groups speaking 1,000 languages. Forty five per cent (45%) of Africans are Christian, 40% are Muslim and 15% practice indigenous or local religions. The African religions are usually monotheist and many originate from or are mixed with Christian practices. Most Africans marry within their own ethnic groups. Africans' loyalty to their tribe goes beyond their allegiance to their country. The average birth rate in Africa is 4.3%. The average death rate is 1.3%. Therefore, the population grows by about 3% every year. Africa has tall people and little people; Tutsies and TWA/MBUTI People(Pygmies). West Africa has sunny skies with beautiful palm fringed white-sand beaches, breath-taking reefs and endless rainforest.

Climate


Because Africa straddles the equator with half of its lands in the northern hemisphere and the other half in the southern hemisphere, its climate is mostly tropical and uniform. Rains are rare from May to September, making the dry season the best for safari trips. The dirt roads in the animal reserves turn into mud strips during the rainy months. Winter is cold only in the Southern part of the continent. But, it is only mildly cold.

Remarkable

Africa has great "children" like Nelson Mandela, Miriam Makiba, Desmond Tuto and Kofi Annan. The best soccer players in the world come from Africa as well as the best runners. Cameroon won the Olympic Football Games in 2000, and Kenyan runners win most of the marathons held in the world. Share-taxis are always crowded and are very common in most of the sub Saharan countries. Baobab tree (monkey-bread tree) are spread al over Africa. Bargaining remains quite usual in Africa and so you should not hesitate to cut a price at the beginning of bargaining. Anything is negotiable in Africa they say! Because they repair holes in the roads in rural areas to make little money, kids setup street blocks with robes to stop cars. Most dogs are very skinny (not surprising!). Many people chew on soft tree sticks to clean their teeth. People carry the most impossible loads on their head. In several countries curfew still exists. In Africa things change rapidly. What is today can be changed tomorrow.

A famous King of Malili, called "Tui Malela", a Madagascar radiated tortoise (Testudo radiata), died in 1966. It is believed by many that he had been exported by Captain Cook in 1773 and presented to the King of Tonga. If that is true, he was over 200 years old.

Bantu, a linguistically related group of about 60 million people living in equatorial and southern Africa. The Bantu probably originated in what is now Cameroon, migrating downward into southern Africa. Beginning in about 1000BC and ending sometime in the 3rd or 4th century AD, the Bantu migration was one of the largest in human history. The cause of this movement is uncertain, but many anthropologists believe it was caused by an increase in population, a result of the introduction of new crops, such as the banana (native to south Asia), which allowed for more efficient food production. Early in their history, the Bantu split into two major linguistic branches—the Eastern and Western Bantu. The Eastern Bantu migrated through present-day Zimbabwe and Mozambique, down to South Africa. The Western Bantu moved into what is now Angola, Namibia, and northwestern Botswana … to be continued

Yours Truly,
Ferdinand Che

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