Dakar is spread across the very western
tip of Africa. In this city, hawkers sell
street food to businessmen working
in skyscrapers, and horse-drawn carts
queue up next to flashy sports cars. It’s
all hustle and bustle until a goat ambles
across the road, bringing everything to
a noisy standstill. Senegal’s capital is an
explosion of chaos and colour.
DAKAR DELICACIES
Breakfast in Dakar is likely to
involve croissants and pastries
– a reminder of centuries
gone by when Senegal was
colonised by the French. The
city’s favourite meal is known
as ceebu jën
or thiéboudienne
.
Fish chunks are stuffed with
herbs, then served with rice
and vegetables. Locals sit
around a bowl and eat it using
their right hand. The meal
is washed down with jus de
gingembre
(ginger juice)
or bouyi
, a drink made
from the fruit of the
baobab tree.
BREAK CHANCERS
In contrast to its chaotic streets, Dakar’s sandy
beaches and surf breaks are surprisingly quiet.
The best beaches are to the north, but only a
few wave-riding visitors venture this far.
Proper boards are hard to come by
and locals can often be seen surfing
on salvaged pieces of wood
or plastic.
BEST DRESSED
Young or old, rich or poor,
Dakarians are snazzy dressers.
Both men and women commonly
wear lovely long-flowing robes called
boubou
. Women dress incredibly
colourfully, even when doing chores and
carrying baskets around on their head.
BIG BABIES
Humpback whales
spout and splash off
the peninsula around Dakar
between September and
November, when many of the
females have calves in tow.
Animal lovers go to Cap Manuel
to try and sneak a peek
at the big mammas.
The whales venture
into the warm water
close to the coast to
feed their babies up and
get them ready to face
the open ocean.
WACKY RACES
Dakar has become famous for its far western location.
For almost 30 years an eccentric event called the
Paris-Dakar Rally saw cars, trucks and motorbikes race
10,000km (6,200mi) from France to the city. Entrants
crossed the Sahara Desert, facing all sorts of perils
on the way. The race moved to South America
in 2009, but it’s still known as ‘The Dakar’.
HOUSE OF SLAVES
Between the 16th and 19th centuries, the Atlantic slave
trade saw millions of Africans transported in terrible
conditions from the continent’s west coast to work on
plantations in the Americas. The Maison des Esclaves
(House of Slaves) on Gorée Island, 3km (1.9mi) off the
coast of Dakar, is a memorial to these people. The Door
of No Return is a bleak opening on to the water
that symbolises how the Africans were torn away
from their homes and families forever.
MISSING THE POINT
The African Renaissance Monument towers at the top
of one of Dakar’s twin seaside hills. At 49m (161ft)
high, the statue is the tallest in Africa, looming even
higher than New York’s Statue of Liberty. It shows a
woman beside a man holding a child pointing west,
symbolising the start of a great new era. When it was
first unveiled in 2010 however, the bronze family raised
a few eyebrows. Critics said that the monument was
too expensive and religious groups complained that
the woman’s skirt was too short.