Writing Worth Reading
Writing Worth Reading
There really isn't much of a theme to tie these 39 photographs together, other than that they were all taken in the air, looking down. But, my, there are some beauties. Worth a few minutes of anyone's time
Portrait of African city taken lately by Tuareg rebels. Wreathed in fantasy and romance. Grew rich on the salt trade. "One could think of Timbuktu as the farthest inland port city in the world, and of the Sahara as its ocean"
A trip down the Tana river, as yet unspoiled by pollution and development. "In some places the mud was smooth as bronze, in others it had been ploughed up by elephants and buffalo, and everywhere it was littered with baboon turds"
Photographer Tim McKulka spent five years travelling to every state in the united Sudan – then Africa's biggest country. This engrossing and beautiful audio slideshow records some of what he saw
Writer takes long walk through Kenya, reflects on history of famine in Horn of Africa. Its victims are mostly nomads, pastoralists. When they disappear, through urbanisation, so at last will the stereotypical African famine
"Thinking that I could come to Uganda and, just by being black, relate in any meaningful way would have been rather naïve. It’s not that I expected this; I just still held out hope that it was possible"
There isn't the anger of Kenya or the fear of Uganda or Rwanda, but Tanzanians are suffering under debilitating price rises and corruption. A new opposition is asking awkward questions. Is dissent beginning to stir?
Reuters correspondent on the perils of travel, car buying and car ownership in Sierra Leone. "If you want to go into the jungle you drive a Land Rover. If you want to come out again you drive a Toyota." Advice he ignored
An extraordinary and beautiful series of portraits taken by Dutch photographer during African journey. Visited Ethiopia, Kenya, Mali, Namibia, Niger
Utterly absorbing gallery of photographs from a recent trip to southern Ethiopia. People and landscape. Some beautiful colours and very well-crafted compositions
Lovely series of photographs of baobab trees in Madagascar. Unlike many other trees, they're commercially useless as fuel or construction material. Their fruit is said to be nutritious though
Treasure trove for map enthusiasts. A series of 27 fascinating historical maps, all expandable to large readable size, charting European engagement with Africa. Made available by Princeton University library
