 TOWNS |
| Conakry |
In the early nineteenth century a string of small islands lay strewn at the end of Sangareya bay. Tumbo, the easternmost island, was near the Kaloum peninsula and dotted with villages inhabited by fishermen. One of them was destined for bigger and better things. Why did the hamlet of Konakiri, rather than the neighboring communities of Bolobine, Krutown or Tumbo, become Conakry, Guinea's future capital?
 Cabo do Sagres, a Portuguese cape |
The Portuguese discovered the region around 1460 and saw the value of the bay. Much later they built the port and named its promontory Cabo do Sagres after a cape located in southern Portugal. They also saw the value of the Loos islands off the coast of Tumbo, which slave ships and pirates later used as a port and a haven. But in the nineteenth century Tumbo and the neighboring islands were not as well known as the lands further north including the Rio Nunez and the Rio Pongo, which were made famous by Rene Caillie's book Voyage a Tombouctou. In 1837 a French mission chose Konakiri as the site of a trading post in the southern Senegal region. In 1882 the English recognized France's "rights" over what were still known as the southern rivers territories. Three years later the village became the seat of the military administration of Dubreka. In the mid-1860s the French built forts in Boke and Boffa at the mouth of the two rivers and in Benty, near Sierra Leone. They helped strengthen France's presence in the area, which England still challenged. The choice of Konakiri as the seat of the military administration in 1885 proved decisive. The French signed agreements with local chiefs, such as the one who led the island of Tumbo and lived on the mainland in Kaporo, which has been absorbed by the modern neighborhoods of Matoto and Ratoma. In 1890 the southern rivers district became autonomous, and the governor established his residence in Conakry. The following year saw the foundation of "French Guinea" with Doctor Ballay as governor. The city quickly grew eastward, absorbing neighboring hamlets. One of them was later known as Krutown because the port drew many foreign seamen, especially the Krumen of Liberia who specialized in coastal navigation. Conakry and Krutown were located on either side of the famous Compagnie Française d' Afrique Occidentale (CFAO, or French West Africa Company) which had succeeded a German company established in 1854 in Hamburg. The CFAO started becoming a powerful economic force in Conakry and throughout French West Africa in 1887. It had its own docks and the surrounding nascent city was on the edge of the sea. The current port facilities were built on landfill much later.
| A beautiful mansion |
Nearby the villa "Belle Brise" stood across from what eventually became the Friacompany's aluminum port. One of the city's most beautiful colonial mansions, it still exists today and once housed the office of indigenous affairs. Today Belle Brise, its shutters curiously, permanently closed, is the Rumanian embassy. A bit further south stood the late-nineteenth-century governor's palace, which became the presidential palace in 1958. It was torn down, and the new palace is still under construction. The building site's scaffolding can be made out from far away. Bolbine, now known as Boulbinet, is at the western end of the island's southern coast. It was the site of a deep cove the villagers used as a fishing port and is still the city's largest.
Tumbo was across from the isthmus and land's end. Two trails through the forest, which was once very dense and home to beasts of prey and monkeys, connected Tumbo to Boulbinet and the facilities to the northwest.
| The 1897 city plan |
The biggest changes in Conakry took place in 1897. A city plan similar to those in Dakar and Abidjan, with streets and broad avenues crossing each other at right angles, was laid out behind the original buildings. The lay-out has remained the same and the changes followed the lines of the original thoroughfares. The channel separating- the island from the mainland at high tide as was filled in. A wide boulevard, which still exists, ran around what had become an extension of Kaloum peninsula. The avenue du Gouverneur Ballay, which became the avenue de la Republique further north, replaced the two trails, prolonging the axis of the route du Niger which, as its name suggests, continued to the interior towards the great river's upper valley. The road that would eventually become the boulevard de la Gare began at the intersection of the route du Niger and the avenue de la Republique. It was parallel to five other wide thoroughfares, including the boulevard du Commerce and the boulevard du Gouvernement, which ran alongside the governor's palace.
| The Conakry-Niger railroad |
In the 1890s French military officers, more or less with the agreement of the government in Paris, relentlessly pursued their goal of annexing all the land crossed by the Niger. In 1900 they achieved their objective. The colonizers on the coast were practically cut off from the conquerors in the east, so it made perfect sense for -i;\, them to build a railroad from Conakry to the Niger towards Bamako. The project was never completed, which is unfortunate for present-day Guinea because it would have provided a functioning rail link with Mali's capital city and Dakar.
Construction on the railroad to Kindia began in 1900 and was completed four years later, when the English ceded the Loos islands, an hour away by dugout canoe, to the French, who must have felt relieved to be rid of the British presence so close to the capital. The subsequent discovery of bauxite on the islands, combined with the iron ore reserves on the Kaloum peninsula, changed the direction of Conakry's port.
| The inter-war period |
Until 1928 the port had only a small wooden wharf-which did not slow down the city's growth. By that time the population had grown from a few hundred people living in scattered villages to 10,000. In 1902 Governor J .P. Couturier had the Ballay hospital, named after his redecessor, built at the intersection of the avenue of the same name and the south coast road. The hospital was across from a square, the Moal, laid out on a small, rocky cape. The grid street pattern was designed when Conakry became the capital. The boulevards and avenues were lined by shady mango, kapok, eucalyptus and coconut trees, a few beautiful examples of which are still standing today.
| The capital's development |
But the port did not start growing until the late 1920s, as landfills gradually expanded the northwest coast. The city's urban core was still hemmed in by the sea. A 300-meter quay was built in 1934, followed by a banana ship quay that replaced the wooden wharf. At the same time construction work on the Prudente dike got under way, but building came to a halt with the outbreak of the Second World War.
The cathedral was begun in 1933 with the blessing of Monseigneur Lerouge, who had been the priest at the first Saint Mary's church. Built at the corner of avenue de la Republique and boulevard du Commerce, the cathedral's architecture is not particularly distinctive. The plain facade has an arched portal. There is a square bell-tower, a dome over the transept crossing and a tile roof. Inside, the nave is flanked by aisles and continues on into a choir which opens out into chapels. The frescoes by A. Fautrard and the stained glass windows are not very attractive.
The Fathers of the Holy Spirit had established a mission on the same site in 1890. When the cathedral was built it moved to a large vacant lot owned by the bishopric alongside the route du Niger. It was located northeast of a market that for a long time was the largest, and sometimes the only, one in the city.
| After the Second World War |
For a long time Conakry was contained within what had been Tumbo island. All the communities located to the east were considered more or less separate suburban villages. Since the current city measures 30 kilometers across, it is hard to imagine that until independence the capital was no bigger than a medium-sized provincial town.
Even after the Second World War and Conakry's transformation into the colony's administrative capital and one of the world's leading mining ports, the surface area barely increased. But the suburbs grew and became denser in a haphazard manner. Soon the urban fabric no longer had the orderly aspect that the city's first designers had sought to achieve. After the war, economic expansion due to the mining of bauxite on the islands and of iron on Kaloum spurred the growth of the city and of the port built to export them.
In 1948 construction on the Prudente dike resumed. It was also decided to start building a quay for ships used to transport mineral resources housed by a new, 750-meter dike, as well as on a new quay for long-distance ships. At the same time the banana ship quay was built, Guinea having become the world's leading exporter of the fruit.
The work was finished by the eve of independence. The port had 21,000 square meters of warehouses. The railroad was extended to the quay for long-distance ships behind the commodities port to facilitate the export of ore. Port traffic increased from approximately 150,000 tons in 1939 to over one million just before independence. Iron ore accounted for 400,000 tons, most of it exported to Great Britain, and bauxite sold to Canada for slightly less.
West of Boulbinet port the city's most beautiful hotel was built at the entrance of a rocky point overlooking the lighthouse. Five stories of the Hotel de l'Independance, which is still in use today, have splendid views of them and the coast of Kassa island. This hotel almost fulfills the role of a "French embassy".
| Conakry after independence |
Conakry went from being capital of the colony to capital of the Republic of Guinea in 1958. Five years later the city was divided into two administrative units, Conakry 1 and Conakry 2, which corresponded to the creation of two federations of the ruling party, the PDG. In 1979 a third federation was created and the city divided into three communes, which were replaced by three prefectures in 1984 when the Second Republic was founded. In 1991 the capital was further divided into five communes: Kaloum at the west- ern end, Dixinn and Matam north and south, Ratoma and Matoto.
| The creation of new communes |
But each commune contains many neighborhoods, some of which carry on the memory of old villages such as Boulbinet and Tumbo. Almamya largely replaced the old hamlets of Conakry and Krutown, followed by Coronthie along the port facilities to the east; Manquepas, which comes after Boulbinet; and Sandervalia, which is named after the self-styled count of Sanderval, who hoped to carve out a kingdom in Guinea-and whom no one ever expected to be honored in this way. Next come Koulewondy, Teminetaye, Sans.Fil and Tumbo, which stretches all the way to the area that was filled in to link it with the mainland.
Dixinn is crossed by the route de Donka and bounded on the south by avenue Fidel Castro, nicknamed "the highway". It includes Cameroun, the old residential suburb of Camayenne, Landreah, the various subdivisions of Dixinn, Belle- Vue and Miniere.
To the south, Matam includes Lansebounyi, Domino, Coleah, Mafonco, the various sub-divisions of Madina, Boussoura, Touguiwondy, Matam Lido and Matam-Centre and the sub-divisions of Bonfi.
West Ratoma encompasses the former villages of Taouyah, Hamdallaye, Ratoma, Kipe, Dar es Salam, Koloma, Kaporo, East-Ratoma and Nongo, Kiroti, Lambany and Simbaya. South of the above neighborhoods are West-Matoto, which includes Dabondy, Gbessia, the Cite de I' Air north of the airport with the same name, Simbaya, Alpha Yaya Camp, Tanene, and Sangoyah, which also stretches over East-Matoto with Kissosso.
Few visitors ever see these quarters in the eastern end of the city because they seldom venture beyond the airport, which is connected to downtown at the far west by the route du Niger, the highway or avenue Fidel Castro, which bounds Dixinn and Matam along the railroad and joins the highway a little before the airport.
| The 1997 urban development plan |
In 1997 the second urban development plan divided the city into seven communes. Street names became numbers preceded by the first two letters of their respective sector, such as KA for Kaloum and Dl for Dixinn. The new city map incorporates these changes, which does not make it easy for someone who has been given the old street names to find his or her way around. What's more, the map is as big as a beach towel and impossible to fold in the street without getting in the way of passersby. In October 1997 a new map came out with both the new and the old names of streets in the city center. It was divided into 16 plates, which is much easier to handle.
| Boke |
When Rene Caillie landed in the community at the mouth of the Rio Nunez on March 2, 1827 after sailing from Freetown, it was called-or he named it-Kakondy. A stone erected under the reign of Napoleon III commemorates the arrival of Caillie, a strange figure obsessed with the idea of discovering Timbuktu. After several failed attempts from Saint-Louis in Senegal, he set out from Sierra Leone and landed in Kakondy-Boke. That time he got it right.
| A most valuable record. |
Although Caillie stayed in Boke less than a month, as he wrote in his book Voyage a Tombouctou, that was long enough for him to study the various peoples living there as well as along the river's banks. In the European part of town, English and French directors of prosperous trading offices apparently lived on good terms with one another. Every day caravans came down from Kankan, the old Malinke capital, subsequently crossing Fouta Djalon. Nothing in Caillie's writings suggests that the English and French were locked in a bitter struggle to eliminate each other.
Everything was still up for grabs in 1827. Trade was brisk between Europe and the coast, especially the outposts along the Rio Pongo. Caillie referred to his French host's business trip south, while he visited English traders who apparently encouraged his venture. On the way he noticed the banks of the winding Rio Nunez overlooked by a mountain with a cascade of "the clear waters of a small stream lined by orange, lemon, banana and bombax trees."
Caillie wrote at length about the customs and lifestyle of the Baga, who had settled on the islands in the river's mouth, as well as about the Landama and Nalou living side by side on the banks of the river. At the time all these groups were thoroughly animist and paid a tribute to the almamy of neighboring Fouta Djalon so that they could practice their religion in peace. For the most part it was a matrilineal society, which means that the legitimate heir to the throne was always the son of the king's sister. Caillie painstakingly described the secret society led by a simo, the boys' initiation rites and the celebrations that marked their conclusion. Although the report is somewhat tinged with condescension, it remains an invaluable record of the region's early nineteenth-century inhabitants and their lifestyles. They cultivated rice and made palm wine, kept bees and herds of cattle, tended flocks of goats and sheep and raised fowl, which they seemed to use for sacrifices and feast days rather than everyday food. They had neither horses nor donkeys.
Caillie displayed a certain disdain for the Landama and Nalou, whom he considered lazy. But he praised the Baga, who supplied most of the salt sold in Kakondy and Fouta Djalon, as hard-working, brave and good at farming. He wrote that all three groups displayed a sense of hospitality as well as a bellicose character.
| The starting point |
Visitors to present-day Boke inevitably mistake the commemorative stone erected in honor of Caillie in 1868 for the spot where he began his journey. The marker is located in the heart of the city's most interesting neighborhood. A text about the explorer's departure in the direction of Labe is engraved on one side. The date the stele was erected, "in the time of Faidherbe and of the Marquis de Chasseloup-Laubat, Faidherbe, governing Senegal and its dependencies" is on another. The stone is on a large square shaded by large mango trees. Much later, under the sekou Toure regime, three statues were put up of Samory Toure, the dictator's grandfather; Alpha Yaya Diallo; and Dinah Salifou Camara, king of the Nalou. All three resisted colonization and were deported.
A small fort built in 1878 rises behind the stone. It once housed the commander's accommodations, administrative offices and an underground prison with particularly grim cells.
| The museum and its collections. |
The fort became a museum in 1971 and was restored ten years later. It is worth visiting with Mamadou Traore, a guide and sculptor whose studio is on the other side of the square. There is not enough room to exhibit everything in the ground-floor rooms, which contain many interesting items. One is the famous Nimba mask-statue, the Baga fertility symbol. Another example with a large raffia skirt is also on display.
There are also samples of Guinze, the old currency used by forest-dwelling ethnic groups in southeast Guinea. Guinze are 40- to 60-centimeter long iron rods with heart- or triangle-shaped ends. The length varies depending on the value, the provenance and the king who issued them, but it was strictly regulated so that everyone could make the necessary conversions. Most of the iron used in making the rods came from the Beyla region. Guinze, which existed long before colonization, was generally used to pay for luxury goods only. Among other objects on display are the Tendef, a statue used only for initiation rites; a sacred drum including a figure of a coiled snake, which is the symbol of doctor-healers and the users of local pharmacopoeia; and a canary reserved for talismans. The tom-tom, called a Matimbo, which can be seen lying on the head of a carved female figure, was reserved for women. The Sorsornet mask, which was said to protect young people during their initiation, was worn by an unknown person who squatted, hidden, under the raffia skirt. As the incantations were uttered he stood upright, raising the mask with bamboo poles until it reached a height of four meters. The mask was accompanied by several drums.
| The Simo role |
Another sacred mask-this one specific to the Boke region-depicts the snake guarded in the sacred forest by the great fetish-man. He was probably the same figure Rene Caillie called the Simo and described as a sort of judge who was forbidden to leave the forest for the town. The chief or king, whom he appointed, had to consult him before making any important decision.
A long, split drum was used only for sending messages. It was guarded by a someone named by initiates and was the only person authorized to use it. Also on view are other masks of various origins that were used for festive occasions and weddings. The Raga stool on exhibit was given to the chief's favorite wife.
Busts of young girls that were taken out during ceremonies celebrating the end of the harvest are on display in a small room. Also on exhibit is a commonplace item most Europeans are not familiar with, but which answers the question why the garments Africans wear look impeccable even though irons are nowhere to be seen in villages. The implement consists of two flat wooden clubs with which one or two persons beat the fabric, which was still probably damp. Such "beaters" can still be found just about everywhere.
| A boon for historians. |
Storage rooms and the archives are on the fort-museum's first floor. The archives are a veritable treasure trove of information for anyone doing historical research on Guinea's colonial past. Copies of the Journal Officiel de l'AOF-the official journal of French West Africa-are kept there. They include lists of appointments, weather reports, advertisements and a host of details about a vanished way of life. Mixed with all sorts of manuscripts, the copies are piled up on the floor and tables in a mess that will not be straightened out soon for lack of staff. It is exciting to leaf through the pages in this quiet room with a magnificent view of the river's steep banks.
But the museum exhibit ends on a more sorrowful note. Visitors can see a grim room in the cellar w here the French carried out interrogations to recruit local infantrymen, the famous "tirailleurs senegalais". It can be imagined that they were not exactly enthusiastic about the idea. The prisoners were chained up in the bleak cells surrounding the interrogation room. That is not where slaves were kept, although for a long time they were assembled in Boke, which was a major slave trade center. The fort was built long after slavery was abolished. Once out of the cellar, the site of the loading docks where slaves were put on boats is visible on the right below a teak forest. The abandoned port was replaced by the commercial harbor created further along on the left.
Mamadou Traore, the guide whose primary occupation is sculpting, lives across the street. His house is cool because the straw roof rests on poles that let the air circulate. It is full of statuettes, carved stools and tables that can be ingeniously taken apart. During conversations about contemporary art in the city Traore mentions "Batafon", a dance troupe with women percussionists that performs at traditional celebrations as well as on request from the government agency concerned with youth affairs or the district chief.
| Dalaba |
Located in the heart of Fouta Djalon, Dalaba is Guinea's undisputed tourism capital. Visitors hear of the wonderful climate, famous gardens, countless hiking trails and hotels as soon as they enter the country. Since Dalaba is on an excellent road only 53 kilometers/33 miles north of Mamou, many Conakry residents spend their three-day weekends in the quiet, cool town. Dabala is all the more appealing to tourists who have spent time in areas where it is difficult to find accommodations and restaurants.
But let's not exaggerate. Dalaba has a total of just 36 comfortable hotel rooms, which are often taken during school vacations or when an organized tour is in town. Reservations by phone or mail are indispensable. To book a room by phone you must call the post office because the hotel does not have its own telephone yet.
| An embarrassment of riches. |
The "Hotel Sib", the largest and most luxurious in Dalaba, boasts an elegant lobby crowned by a dome and a long dining room whose ceiling is decorated with léfas, different-colored straw disks. There is air-conditioning in all the rooms, which, like the pretty belvedere at the end of the garden, have magnificent views of Mount Maci. The hotel was built in 1930 and named the "Hotel des Chargeurs Reunis" after the French trading company that was located in the neighborhood, which is still known as the "Chargeur" quarter. The "Sib" was entirely renovated in 1995. Before 1958 Europeans were attracted by the area's climate, which was so invigorating that wounded soldiers from Senegal and Cote d'Ivoire were sent here to recover during the Second World War. After independence the European clientele dried up and the hotel went out of business a few years later. Now it is open again and ready to accommodate groups of tourists.
"Hotel Tangama" does not have such an illustrious past, but it is run by a Frenchman who has lived in Guinea a long time. He may have his moody days, but usually welcomes guests with a smile and a joke. Everyone has called him "Rigolo" or ~ "Rigoulo" for a long time. His hotel is t elegant but cozy. There is no air conditionning, but it really is unnecessary, even at the end of the dry season. In the huge living room there is even a fireplace that is often lit from December to February. The "Tangama" also has a library with a stack of magazines-highly appreciated after doing without reading matter for a long time for lack of bookstores-and a terrace where everyone is quick to strike up a conversation before dinner. When he is in the mood, the host joins afterwards. He is a mine of information about Guinea.
Patrick Madelaine and Sekou Bangoura have written a marvelous little book on the region that includes a detailed map and practical information. It is on sale at the hotel or at the tourist office, which is also located in the Chargeur quarter.
| The Chargeur district, a residential neighborhood. |
Mount Tangama, whose summit can be reached by driving up a switchback road that begins on the right-hand side about 300 meters from the hotel, and Mount Diaguissa to the southwest overlook the Chargeur quarter. The city's most stylish neighborhood since the 1930s, it is still where those aspiring to belong to the "right" class of people have their homes built.
It all began when Governor Blachet had his house built here in 1936. At first called "Villa Jeanine", the name was changed to Syli when French names were outlawed. The colonial governors may not have had many qualities, but at least they chose the most beautiful sites for their mansions and displayed good architectural taste, examples of which can be found throughout Guinea.
At first glance the villa's most striking feature is the magnificent view, especially from the bay window in the lounge. Like the "Hotel Sib", the ceiling is decorated with lejas. A fireplace attests to the cool climate and a tusk is evidence that once there were so many elephants in the area they were hunted-to the point of extinction, at least in appearance. Many farmers in regions to the south and southwest complain about elephants trampling their crops, while tourists in search of African wildlife complain about not seeing any! Today the "Villa Syli" is used for top-ranking guests, with priority for the president of Guinea.
Dating back to the colonial era, the "Maison des Palabres" (the "pow-wow" house) is located among a few modest dwellings. It was built to host meetings of local chiefs. But why was it called the "pow-wow" house when they expected to follow orders without asking questions? In fact, this is also where the decision was made to ban local chiefs in 1958. Inside, a local artist decorated the floor and walls with bas-reliefs based on Fulani designs. The earth, depicted by a central rose window, is a great success. Unfortunately, like in many buildings, especially mosques, sturdy sheet metal has replaced the straw roof.
The house of Myriam Makeba.
The house where South African singer Myriam Makeba lived in exile for ten or so years is off a paved road between this concession and the beginning of the Chargeur neighborhood to the northeast. The house is not open to the public, so it is well-nigh impossible to see the ceiling decorated with léfas.
Follow its round wall and admire the view of the valley from the verandah. Some disorderly vegetation still grows in the large, abandoned garden, including sisal plants with a bad reputation. According to legend they caused the departure of those who planted them. The former military quarter once occupied the site of the house. The officers' mess still stands, but today it is the "Etoile", a small hotel and restaurant.
From the tourist office to the crafts center.
Local crafts are particularly well represented in Dalaba. The tourist office, which is on the right-hand side of the paved road that diagonally cuts across the Chargeur quarter, sells an attractive array of crafts, from pottery to baskets, fabric hammocks, wooden spoons, decorated gourds and ebony necklaces. This is also the place to ask for a guide, who is indispensable for making the countless trips in the region and interpreting.
A shop run by a women's group is on the two-lane avenue that crosses the city on the way to Mamou. The boutique specializes in fabric dyeing, with demonstrations on request, embroidery, tablecloths, batik and dresses. The women also do work on commission. A sculptor, dress-makers and weavers are on the left-hand side of the route de Mamou. Jewelers and leather-workers who make sandals, bags and other items are on the right. Every Sunday there is a large market that sells local crafts and, of course, fruits and vegetables, which flourish in the area, especially in Dounkimagna, which is worth visiting.
| The famous Chevalier garden. |
Dalaba stands at 1,230 meter height, The Chevalier garden is outside the city on the route de Pita. It is reached by a switchback road that descends 5 kilometers/3 miles to the valley below. The dirt road to Ditinn branches off and the entrance to the 95-hectare garden is further along on a paved road to the right.
Auguste Chevalier was a prominent early twentieth-century French botanist in the Dalaba region. He had a passion for experimenting with the trees and plants likely to acclimatize to Africa. Chevalier focused on many species, but what made him famous was the pine wood that he planted as a nursery. The trees flourished while Chevalier was fighting in France during the First World War, and today they form a magnificent, dense, tall pine grove-the only one in Guinea-that has overgrown its original boundaries. | Many other species also grow in the garden, including coffee and tea plants, bamboo from China and cork trees that have survived since the garden was created. A nursery with numerous fir trees has been added to the original plantations. Many species of birds, including red and green turacos, have adopted the garden as home and contribute to making it a delightful place for a stroll.
| The market gardens. |
The market gardens are at least as wonderful as the Chevalier garden. To get there, take the dirt road to Ditinn, turn left on to a red dirt road, follow an arrow painted on a rock and continue several kilometers until reaching a small bridge. For greater safety, ask for a guide at the tourist office. Park the car in a field on the right-hand side, where the gardens begin behind a lantana hedge, which along with sisal is commonly used to enclose gardens. The lantana is an evergreen shrub bearing pretty, two-tone yellow flowers that give off a strange, spicy scent when crushed between the fingers. They are used to make a tea that is said to be a remedy for colds.
| An enthusiastic gardener. |
An extremely fertile market garden kept by an old gardener who has devoted his life to the job stretches behind the hedge. Follow him as he lists all the vegetables and fruits that grow there: celery, leeks, beets, spinach, red, white and green cabbages, broccoli, pepper, eggplant, carrots, watercress, lettuce, turnips, peas, all sorts of aromatic herbs and, wonder of wonders, strawberries. The adorable old man puts so much passion into talking about his garden it does not matter if his French is so poor, his accent so thick that it is sometimes difficult to understand him. His enthusiasm is contagious.
The quiet, beautiful mosaic of colors unfolds in the middle of hills that echo with birds' songs. The temperature is delightful. The garden is highly recommended for campers, who will not find such an opportunity to stock up on fresh fruit and vegetables anywhere else. Lake Dounkimagna, which was formed by a dam on the Tene, is nearby. To get there go back to the unpaved road to Ditinn, drive approximately 4 kilometers and pass the huts of the vacation village on the hillside on the left. Originally intended as additional housing for the residents of Dalaba, it looks as if the village will crumble before it is finished. Turn right at the fork in the road. The lake is one kilometer away. Several small canals carry the water from here to the market gardens. This is a good place to take your time, have a picnic, perhaps go for a swim and put off until tomorrow what you can do today.
| Kankan |
A glance at a map is all it takes to realize Kankan ' s centuries-old importance and prestige. Located on the Milo, an affluent of the right bank of the Niger navigable from Kankan to the confluence, it was a crossroads where caravans from the southern forest and the northern savannas traded their goods. Location destined the town to become a great trade center. The Malinke group of the Maninka- Mori probably founded Kankan in the seventeenth century. When they were not busy making war or converting their neighbors to Islam, the Malinke were excellent tradesmen.
Sometimes they practised all three activities simultaneously. Since they concluded lucrative deals with people of the same ethnic group scattered throughout West Africa, they often became very wealthy. Kankan quickly became a powerful city surrounded by high walls.
| In the days of Rene Caillie. |
Yet Rene Caillie does not seem to have been particularly impressed when he arrived in Kankan in June 1827. He described the dougou-tigui, or chief of the city, Mamadi-Sanici, who greeted him on a cowhide, and the mosque, which he called a "shapeless construction not nearly as attractive as the straw mosques of Fouta Djalon".
He also wrote about the market, a cosmopolitan place where gold from Boure and goods from allover, including Europe, changed hands and where various ethnic groups mingled. At the time, Kankan's market was famous throughout West Africa. A few decades later the city was run by members of the Kaba family, who practically considered themselves rulers by divine right. That was dangerous. During the last quarter of the nineteenth century that attitude led the king of Bate, a territory stretching from west of the Milo to the Niger, to underestimate a lowly traveling merchant named Samory who was a mercenary in his army-and captured Kankan in 1881. The power of the Kaba was at an end but not the prestige of the city, which had another asset apart from trade. It was also a highly renowned Koranic center that drew men of letters.
Kankan was never to become Samory's capital, although it remained under his rule until he was forced to surrender to General Archinard's French army in April 1891. That was when the last Kaba returned to Kankan "in the police wagon of the occupier", who re-established his power. But it was too late to save the city. Samory, who laid waste to everything in his path, destroyed part of it, the French most of the rest.
| Kankan's darkest days. |
Kankan lost its fortified walls as well as its role as a trading metropolis. The colonizers arrived from the northeast and Bamako, which they had already conquered. The centuries-old relationship between the two great centers inhabited by members of the same ethnic group and religion continued as intensely as in the past. In addition exchanges were established with towns in northern Cote d'Ivoire, which was also under French control. Odienne, whose founder and chief, Vakaba Toure, was a Malinke like Samory, had taken in the leader during his exile in the east.
Kankan does not have good memories of Samory, but still maintains relations with Malinke from other countries. Even when it comes to other ethnic groups, such as those in Forest Guinea, commercial interests are what matters most. Kankan is still a trade center where products from the north and the south change hands.
| A trade center. |
The decision was made to build a rail- road between the ocean and the Niger, which would pass through Kankan. That would have strengthened the city's economic suit because it would have provided , a direct connection with Conakry. Unfortunately this crucial project came Ito naught. Transport on the Milo and Niger has gradually dwindled because the low- water level has dropped substantially and l the rivers have silted up. The boat that regular y sails to Bamako can now make t the run only during August.
On the other hand the paved road between Kankan and Conakry by way of Kissidougou and Faranah has economically revitalized Upper Guinea, which will grow even further when the highway is paved from Kankan to Nzerekore.
| An intellectual city. |
Still home to many Koranic schools, Kankan has lost none of its intellectual luster. In 1963 a teacher's training college was built to make up for the departure of French teachers, which caused a critical shortage of educators on the middle and high school levels throughout the country. In 1968 the college was expanded to include the training of university professors. Three years later a polytechnic institute similar to the one in Conakry was founded. Lastly, in 1984 the establishment became a full-fledged university with five natural sciences departments and a social sciences faculty including philosophy, sociology, history, geography, literature and linguistics departments.
A visit to the university, whose dean and associate dean are very co-operative, is a highly interesting experience. It is not easy to meet professors or other figures who know the city's history well. Kankan is still an intense center of learning and its intellectuals only share their knowledge after giving it much thought.
The university is not the only intellectual center in Kankan. The rural radio station also plays a role. The station's very humble premises are next to the prefecture, which occupies a very beautiful colonial house near a pretty square. Its modest setting does not reflect the intellectual level of those who run it. Listening to them gossip is a highly enjoyable experience, but their activities are not limited to entertaining visitors.
For example, from March 2 through 10, 1998, the station held a symposium that brought together the greatest living traditionalist Mandingo griots from Guinea, Burkina Faso, Mali and Senegal. The event was a follow-up to a 1997 meeting between educational radio stations in Africa. The value of the oral tradition passed on by these specialists no longer needs demonstrating, especially since the 1975 international symposium in Bamako on the empire of Mali, where the "master of the spoken word", wa Kamissoko, cut a very impressive figure.
| Labe |
Labe is easy to reach by a paved road from the south by way of Mamou, but the trip from Conakry on the way north to Koundara is quite another matter. Highly recommended points of interest include "La Dame de Mali" It would seem logical to continue on to Mali from Koundara, but the road is hard and long-approximately 200 kilometers/ 124 miles. That is why most motorists would rather go straight to Labe.
The most direct route is about 250 kilo- meters/155 miles on an unpaved road and a ferry ride across the Koumbia, which is fortunately uneventful, even at night, shortly after Kounsitel. To avoid Koundara and go directly from Boke to Kounsitel via Gaoual, it is necessary to drive on another 112 kilometers/70 miles of unpaved road. In other words, given the current state of affairs the northern itinerary cannot be done without camping.
| A changing Landscape. |
But that is also the best way to appreciate the changing landscape, which goes from flat savannas to jagged mountains and a torrid climate to a more bearable temperature. Another striking transformation occurs on the trip from Koundara. At first the landscape often looks bare. Streams are completely dry several weeks before the first rains and brushfires lit without anyone keeping watch over them are everywhere.
On the second part of the trip-more or less after crossing the Koumbia-farmers still practise this questionable method, but at least they burn only the amount of land necessary for planting. The result is that the rivers do not run dry, even in the middle of May and that the vegetation is always green. That is no accident, but raises the question of why there is such different behavior in an area where the Fulani are dominant everywhere.
| The center of Fouta Djalon. |
The Fulani were not always the dominant ethnic group. The Djallonke had driven the Baga out of Fouta. In 1730 the Fulani defeated the Djallonke in turn at Talansan, forcing them to make room for the newcomers. At home the Fulani are good shepherds who are always willing to offer their flock-tending services. But when the Fulani arrive in a foreign land they are less peaceful, especially when they have rifles and, after becoming Muslims, live among infidels. In the late eighteenth century they ruled Fouta Djalon and founded a theocratic state made up of nine diwe, or provinces, including Labe.
At the time, Labe stretched from the border with Mali in the north to Gaoual and Boke in the west. Its leader bore the title of alpha. That was less prestigious than almamy, which was given to the chief of Timbo, the capital. Sometimes this resulted in an uneasy balance of power. One of the first leaders, Karamoko Alpha Mo, tried to make Labe the federation's main city. In any case he succeeded in making it culturally renowned. He had the mosque built in 1743 and gathered many prominent Muslim figures. Labe replaced Timbo as the capital of Fouta Djalon
Since then Labe's great families have always lived in the quarter around the great mosque. They included King Alpha Ibrahima Diallo and his sons, Aguibou and Alpha Yaya, who was Labe's last sovereign. Today many Fulani aristocrats, who have remained very attached to the city, still live in the neighborhood, even when they occupy very high positions.
A sight to behold is when every last one of the Fulani nobility arrives at the "Saffatou" hotel for a reception after, say, a funeral. They are superbly dressed and their thin, tall silhouettes are higher than foreign onlookers by a head. Whether aristocrats, city-dwellers or farmers from the surrounding villages, the Fulani are a beautiful people.
On the other hand, Labe itself is nothing to write home about. The city does have the advantage of possessing a fairly wide range of hotels in terms of both price and comfort. A few slate-roofed buildings, such as the colonial post office, the prefecture and the old-and unfortunately dilapidated-tourist office recall the presence of a nearby quarry. Today the slate is used only for floor coverings-people prefer sheet metal, which they consider modern and a sign of wealth. As usual the bustling market teems with noise, smells and colors and is surrounded by many shops. Participants in the Paris-Dakar automobile race stay in the Syli villas, which were built for top-ranking guests under sekou Toure. There is not much left to see in Labe itself, but the surrounding area is beautiful and has a pleasant climate. Air conditioning is not a necessity in Labe provided the room is well-ventilated.
| Towards the "Mali Lady". |
Unlike the highway from Kounsitel, the dirt road to Mali crosses meadows framed by hills until reaching the Gambia near its source. Afterwards the road becomes hillier, crosses oxbow lakes and climbs to the top of a fairly steep slope where the view stretches all the way to Sarekali. The falls of the same name are on the Koumbia just before the village on the left-hand side. The road crosses the river 20 kilometers/12 miles later.
The increasingly mountainous landscape is interspersed by bowe and the road is overlooked by Mount Soundoumouli. A little further on the shady village of Pellal is located on a particularly hilly site. Once it was a relay post known for its camp-ground. Then comes the trip's most beautiful but most difficult part. The very steep road has sweeping views and gradually rises to 1,460 meters/4,790 feet.
| Loos (islands ) |
The Loos-or Los-Islands are four kilometers off the Conakry coast and one hour from Boulbinet by dugout canoe. Sleepy and lonely today, the French, English and Portuguese once came into conflict over them. In 1904 the French finally won the dispute-which did not necessarily bring about peace and quiet. The two largest islands, Kassa to the east and Tamara to the west, lie perpendicular to the head of the city's snake-shaped peninsula. The third island, Roome, is much smaller and seems hidden between its sisters' curved flanks. That discreet position is why slave-trading pirates chose it as a haven from British ships and, it is said, a hiding place for treasure until the middle of the nineteenth century. No one has ever found it, though many have tried.
Treasure-hunters have dug holes on Roome. In Kassa, fortune-seekers of a different sort have gouged out entire hillsides for mines and quarries. Two shipwrecks lie rusting in deep water off the east coast within sight of the harbor. The next thing that makes an impression on visitors arriving from that direction is the strange outline of the northern point overlooked by Mount Souroguia and Mount Horace. A thick forest blankets the inward side of the point, which was literally cut in two and offers the sad sight of gaping holes out of which the rocks used to build Conakry harbor were torn.
Time and a spirit of adventure are needed to explore the old bauxite mine, which was the pride of the colonial administration from 1952 on-but which no one seems to remember.
| A ghost town in the middle of Kassa. |
There are several ways of enjoying the islands' beauty. The least common one is to rent a dugout canoe for the day that lands on one of the deserted beaches surrounding Kassa point across from Cabris Islet. If Conakry were not on the horizon this would look like an idyllic Pacific atoll lined by coconut palm trees that travelers in search of solitude dream about. But sometimes a few hours of perfect tranquillity is enough. Three kilometers/ 2 miles of a trail along the island's back- bone are still suitable for motor vehicles. In the 1950s this was a paved road that led to what now looks like a ghost town.
Today no one speaks to travelers about the mine or the Societe des Bauxites du Midi, which was expected to playa pivotal role in the industrialization of "French" Guinea. It is quite a surprise for the visitor to come across a group of houses that seem to have been suddenly abandoned. A ghost town Furniture, or at least bathroom fixtures in almost perfect condition, as well as the vestiges of an electricity network and water drains are still visible. Once 2,500 people lived here, and there were schools, a hospital and various sports facilities. All are gone now. fifty-meter deep crater is on a hillside just outside the town. A trail carved into the rock goes down to the lake that occupies the bottom. Was this a huge cistern built to solve the island's water shortage problem? Or is it a vestige of the bauxite mine? No one knows anymore and hikers have the exquisite feeling that the deserted town is theirs alone. Surprisingly, no one has had the idea of using the abandoned houses. Fifteen of them could be restored, turning the ghost town into a vacation village with an out-standing view and offering an unusual swimming pool.
| Soro Beach |
The idea comes to mind especially when the dugout canoe lands at Soro Beach on Kassa's northern end, where low-income families from Conakry come on weekends. A group of round bungalows can be rented by the night at a low price. There is also a restaurant, an open hut for taking a rest and a gorgeous beach that anyone who has come just for the day can enjoy by taking a group canoe.
The idyllic scene may be replaced by a luxury complex that none of the people who currently use these facilities could afford. There is no reason tourists and wealthy Conakry residents should push out people of more modest means while other places at least as beautiful are nearby.
| Tamara Island |
Tamara is famous because of the penal colony the French built in 1905 on the Inorthern end of the island next to the charming village of Fotoba. Dugout canoes land at the same wharf where prisoners used to disembark. At first the only inmates were Guineans sentenced to terms of two years or more and for whom there was no room in over-crowded Conakry prison. Later, prisoners from throughout French West Africa joined them. Most were resistance fighters struggling against colonialism, including the famous Waliou de Gomba, who died here in 1912.
| The end of the penal colony |
The penal colony was closed in 1957 after years of protests from the village, whose inhabitants sympathized with the prisoners and approved of their actions. In the middle of the mango, avocado, kola and orange trees, it is difficult to imagine what their lives must have been like. The sole remaining traces are a few sections of the walls of the two men's and women's dormitories, hich prisoners left only to grow their food.
The ruins lie atop the hill where Fotoba was built. he Catholic church, which is always full on Sundays, lies at the end of a beautiful, wide avenue lined by mango and palm trees. The thoroughfare leads to a beach with a sign advertising a camp- ground that was never built. That is no great loss because the spot is so quiet, cool and deserted. But at the same time the question arises of why the new luxury tourist complex could not be built here. As on Kassa, a dirt road shaded by banana and other fruit trees runs through corn and manioc fields, connecting the island's three villages.
| Roome, the smallest island |
Roome looks small but it is large enough to have a fishing village, several beaches, a few private houses and a tourist center. The dugout canoe from Kassa lands on Pokia beach, which is discreetly lined by a few weekend houses. A trail starting out amidst the trees climbs the hill in the middle of the island and goes back down the other side to sogue Beach.
There is a beautiful hotel-restaurant, le Sogué, in a large hut whose high, double-gabled thatched roof rests solely on pillars on the sea side. Nearby a similar hut on pilotis houses a bar. Bungalows with fourteen ventilated rooms and bathrooms are discreetly scattered around them. The resort is open every day, but it is often empty during the week. Although Roome is small, measuring only one kilometer long and 500 meters wide, the complex feels as if it is at the end of the world. Yet in just a few minutes the trail leads to the fishing village, which is surrounded by private villas.
| A fishing village |
The fishermen repairing their nets near the beached dugout canoes bitterly complain about the huge industrial trawlers that catch so many fish off the island's coast that their livelihoods are under threat. The crops grown on all three islands are consumed by the inhabitants, which means that fishing is their only source of income. Early in the morning they paddle their canoes to the market in Boulbinet to sell their catch and buy what they cannot find on the islands. A merchant marine barge transports heavy goods on request, dropping anchor only at the deep-water port on Kassa.
Travelers wishing to visit sogue Beach must go through the Delmas- Vieljeux or Karou Voyages agencies. A motorboat leaves the Petit Bateau marina and sails directly to Roome on a regular basis:
| Nzerekore |
The Guerze, or Kpele, the Manon and the Konon who live in the Nzerekore area in far southeastern Guinea probably did not arrive there until less than a century ago. Where exactly did they come from? Traces of their presence can be found in Beyla, which is not far away. Perhaps they were subjected to the same tremendous pressure that drove other peoples fleeing the collapsing empire of Mali south in the sixteenth century.
In any case the Malinke eventually joined the Guerze, Manon and Konon, becoming a local political force to be reckoned with under the theoretically impartial eye of the Fulani, who are still in the minority. The Guerze, Manon and Konon are neither Muslim nor animist but Catholic, although they have managed to preserve their traditions.
One of those traditions is a distaste for large federations. Each ethnic group, no matter how small, had the intention of remaining master at home. This fierce attachment to freedom and independence touched off many wars, especially between the Guerze and the Toma, a related ethnic group living to the north-west. The Guerze committed the classic blunder of enlisting help from the nearest foreigners, who happened to be the French.
To make a long story short, they did little to prevent the French from occupying Gouecke, which thus became the area's first colonial outpost. When the Guerze finally woke up and called the Gbaya Conference in 1911 to revolt against Captain Hecquet, whose methods they found repulsive, it was too late and they were crushed. Following this episode the French abandoned the Gouecke outpost and moved to Nzerekore, which became the district's military capital in 1912. The city grew around the lake formed when French troops built a dam on the N'zele after moving to Nzerekore.
| The source of the N'zele… and of Nzerekore |
The source of the N'zele, or N'Zali, which does not look very impressive as it flows through the middle of town behind the prison, has given rise to an undying legend. A weary, sick hunter drank from the source and was cured. He founded Nzerekore, where his spirit still roams. The source is still sacred, but unfortunately surrounded by so much trash it is difficult to distinguish the rubbish from the remains of cow, chicken, egg and bread offerings brought there on the feast day in February. Most of the mess is from the neighboring market. The source was probably at the origin of the town's name. Nzerekore is the French corruption of N'Zalikole, which some people say means "near my medicine", others "on the banks of the river". Both terms are justified.
A reputation as an enchanted place, the French presence, the influx of many Liberian refugees and political dominance as the capital of Forest Guinea have spurred the growth of Nzerekore, which is now the country's second-largest city in terms of population. The full extent of its size can be grasped by climbing the hill on which the villa reserved for official guests was built. This is probably the most enjoyable spot in Nzerekore, especially at sunset. When the air is clear there is a view of the entire city and the surrounding area as far as Mount Nimba.
Nzerekore is a border market town where farm products from the fertile area can be found. Various craftsmen have gathered in a stand of hevea trees near the governor's office. Some work with raffia, which is particularly plentiful in the area, making bags and braided strips that are subsequently dyed. Others work with wood and ivory-motorists may not see any elephants, but they live in a certain number of forests in the area, such as the one in Dieke.
| The Prefecture museum: a must |
The items in the crafts center are of limited interest compared to the 3,200 objects in the museum next to the stadium collected since around 1962. The museum, which is currently under-going a renovation, occupies three rooms. An eager curator takes visitors on a guided tour and explains each treasure. He has written well-drafted texts on every item, but unfortunately the visit does not leave enough time to read each one and ask him for more information if necessary. The oral commentary, which is necessarily a little different from the written explanations, is confusing. That is a shame because every item in the museum is described.
There are excellent signs on the area's recent history and resources as well as on Guerze and Toma writings, which alternate with the items themselves. On display are masks used for a wide range of purposes, from festive occasions to protection. There is a tiny one that an initiated man can carry in his pocket. Also on view are statuettes from different ethnic groups that are used in initiation rites or to beseech the spirits for fertility or a good harvest. Other objects include items intended for divination, such as a oxtail used to find thieves, and musical instruments. Items used exclusively by women's secret societies are also on display, such as fetishes, statues to ensure the health of pregnant women and mirrors to ward off evil spells and snakes.
The museum is indispensable for understanding ethnic groups that have remained animist to the core. Despite the conversion to Christianity certain customs relating to the old beliefs persist, although the initiation rites for young boys and girls in the sacred woods no longer last seven years.
| Sacred woods, initiation and the knife dance |
In the Kelema region 12 kilometers/7 miles from Nzerekore towards Yomou, Manon girls between the ages of seven and thirteen are still trained with iron-fisted discipline to perform the kei-kei, or knife dance, after the harvest. Definitely not for the squeamish. Kelema ' s inhabitants make offerings to a specific spirit to find out whether a wish will be granted. If the gourd containing the sacrifice comes back empty, the answer is yes.
The villagers of Weya, which is also near Nzerekore, are known for their healing skills. They treat sterile women, the insane, drug addicts and people with many diseases who come from distant places and even neighboring countries. For example, they break a red rooster's legs to heal fractures without touching them. Weya forest is a sacred place that visitors are not allowed to enter alone. They must ask for permission from the district chief, who also procures a guide. A foot-path winding through tall grasses leads to a strange, three-crested palm tree that indicates a supernatural place.
Water that is said to cure any disease wells up in the trunk two meters from the ground. Visitors cup the precious liquid in their hands to drink or wash themselves. The spring never runs dry. Europeans import the water, which preserves its properties as long as it is kept in a gourd. Hikers should wear high boots because of the snakes and the wet ground, which is always soaked because it rains ten months a year.
Travelers from Nzerekore in any direction do not take long to realize that the forest is in danger. The overpopulation intensive clearing and logging activities have created the need to protect the rare shreds of primeval forest. A rural resources management plan has been drawn up for the three patches offorest in Ziama, Dieke and Mount Berosouth of Beyla.
| The endangered forest |
The two-stage plan ends in 2003, by which time a plant and wildlife survey will have been completed. Seventy local plant species have already been listed for protection. Considered genetic pools, they are preserved in hilly areas and will be replanted in particularly deteriorated areas. Crops will be planted along the roads on the forests' fringes. In order for the program to be effective, villagers must learn how to better manage their resources, especially timber, and to use what good soil that is left in a rational way. These stretches of forest have a high potential for ecological tourism. Trails have been cleared that will enable hikers to see endemic species. |
