tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55527225557133564862024-03-13T06:11:09.248-07:00Beautiful AfricaWelcome to the official Beautiful Africa Blog Carnival! The blog world is full of interesting carnivals, but we as couldn't find a relevant carnival about Africa, we decided it was time to create one. With so much negative information about Africa being portrayed all the time, we thought it would be nice if we could assemble some of those positive stories; stories that highlight Africa's beauty, dignity, variety and culture.Esther Garvihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07499704062488259082noreply@blogger.comBlogger28125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5552722555713356486.post-61190201989871311662009-11-04T23:12:00.000-08:002009-11-04T23:16:23.300-08:00Beautiful Neighbours<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://esthergarvi.com/2009/11/04/young-neighbours/"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 335px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_7UggR9WdMOo/SvJ7lpZHMOI/AAAAAAAAENo/wo-TNLuCO-Y/s400/200910-IMG_6876.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400514789867204834" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">C</span>opyright Anette Bengtsson 2009</span><br /></span></div>Esther Garvihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07499704062488259082noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5552722555713356486.post-91819958181706734482009-01-17T00:44:00.000-08:002009-01-17T10:24:41.167-08:00Beautiful Africa 11th edition - Last editionWelcome to our last edition - our team is getting into new ventures - so we take a break from adding new posts to Beautiful Africa.<br /><br />Thanks to all that contributed - we have had a great time gathering stories - and meeting great people along the way. We all continue writing Africa related posts on our blogs not to talk about all those that continue documenting life as they see it here in Africa. Blog culture is definitely here to stay and by now there is no end to the many sites and blogs that show a more honest and real picture from all corners of the continent. A big thank you once more to our regular contributors and everyone else that contributed with their posts and regular comments.<br /><br />This last edition includes posts about Arusha, Timbuktu, the Eden field station in Niger, a fun song by Freshlyground, one of Kari's fantastic photos and last but not least Loomnie's short story.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >Personal experiences</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_S-BzbyB89NM/SXIYzjuqWyI/AAAAAAAAAHA/yKyrJ9jeLdw/s1600-h/Student-Village.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 265px; height: 192px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_S-BzbyB89NM/SXIYzjuqWyI/AAAAAAAAAHA/yKyrJ9jeLdw/s320/Student-Village.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292319786157103906" border="0" /></a><br />From Tauratinzwe here is <a href="http://observationsofafrica.blogspot.com/2008/12/when-first-i-lived-in-africa.html">When I first lived in Africa</a> posted at <span style="font-weight: bold;">Observations of Africa</span> - "When first I lived in Africa, I lived about 20 kilometers outside Arusha, Tanzania at the foot of Mt. Meru. My house was among the student houses at the <span style="font-style: italic;">Chuo cha </span><span style="font-style: italic;">waBatisti cha </span><span style="font-style: italic;">Theologia cha Afrika ya Mashariki</span> (the Baptist Theological Seminary of East Africa)."<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7167/2380/320/mountain_and_cart.0.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 250px; height: 187px;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7167/2380/320/mountain_and_cart.0.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Esther sent me the link to a great blog and I chose the latest post from there : <a href="http://timbuktu-essakane.blogspot.com/2006/03/river-to-timbuktu.html">The river to Timbuktu</a> published at <span style="font-weight: bold;">Camels from Timbuktu to Essakane</span>.<br /><br />"There's now a new 'road' through the desert, North off the tarmac on sandy tracks from Douentza to get to Timbuktu, finishing in a ferry to cross the wide Niger river."<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >Sights of Africa</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://esthergarvi.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/00380119.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 246px; height: 163px;" src="http://esthergarvi.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/00380119.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />From Esther's blog here is - <a href="http://esthergarvi.com/2009/01/09/skywatch-over-edens-field-station/">Skywatch over Eden’s field station</a> posted at<span style="font-weight: bold;"> esthergarvi.com</span> - the photos speak for themselves - also check out Esther's other skywatch posts.<br /><br />I chose one of the latest posts from <span style="font-weight: bold;">Kari</span>'s blog <a href="http://peregrinebynature.com/http:/peregrinebynature.com/dust/">The Harmattan is blowing in</a> posted at <span style="font-weight: bold;">peregrinebynature.com</span>. "african dust is kicked up and blown west on the trade winds where it freezes in midair and falls on your tongue and mittens. "<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://peregrinebynature.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/dust.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 281px; height: 205px;" src="http://peregrinebynature.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/dust.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >Sounds of Africa</span><br /><br />From <span style="font-weight: bold;">Szavanna_blog</span> here is a vibey song - <a href="http://www.szavanna.co.za/?p=562">Ma Cherie</a> by Freshlyground.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_S-BzbyB89NM/SXIZZoy0cSI/AAAAAAAAAHI/RvqdGGeQcQU/s1600-h/normal_Freshly_Ground_NMI.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 226px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_S-BzbyB89NM/SXIZZoy0cSI/AAAAAAAAAHI/RvqdGGeQcQU/s320/normal_Freshly_Ground_NMI.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292320440351748386" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >Creative Writing</span><br /><br />Loomnie presents <a href="http://loomnie.com/2008/12/15/the-lizard/">The Lizard</a> posted at Loomnie.com.<span style="font-style: italic;"> "He had been watching his son since he started the game. The boy had been chasing a red-head lizard for about thirty minutes, and now he had finally got him. He held the wriggling lizard by the tail and went outside. Still holding him he came back into the parlour of their room and parlour apartment with a bowl and a forked stick. His father wondered what he was going to do with them but he did not ask him anything. He did not want to say anything."</span><br /><br />This the last post for the carnival - at least for the time being - have fun and keep blogging!<br /><br />many greetings,<br />from Szavanna and the rest of the team, Ishtar and LoomnieSzavannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11989822413189968249noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5552722555713356486.post-35292338968385502772008-11-25T08:09:00.000-08:002008-11-25T08:30:12.761-08:0011th edition coming up<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_S-BzbyB89NM/SSwj0wjjGhI/AAAAAAAAAG0/DVBESPviF9E/s1600-h/manu.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 205px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_S-BzbyB89NM/SSwj0wjjGhI/AAAAAAAAAG0/DVBESPviF9E/s320/manu.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272628653038180882" border="0" /></a><br />Greetings Beautiful Africa fans!<br /><br />The 11th edition is coming up at the beginning of December. It would be nice to end 2008 with a great collection - <a href="http://blogcarnival.com/bc/submit_1701.html">please submit your posts</a> till the end of November so that we can include them in this year's last edition. You can also submit posts by contacting the team, Esther, Loomnie or Szavanna - and if you discovered new Africa-related blogs that you'd like to introduce to us - please do so!<br /><br />To get you in the writing mood - here is some Dibango vibes :<br /><br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/581YndWsFuk&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/581YndWsFuk&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />South African greetings to All,<br /><br />Szavanna and the BA teamSzavannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11989822413189968249noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5552722555713356486.post-61842100472583529012008-10-07T23:52:00.000-07:002008-11-01T10:16:25.873-07:00Beautiful Africa 10th edition<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_S-BzbyB89NM/SQyOjLXoIbI/AAAAAAAAAGs/e3wjA4Tg4pA/s1600-h/Welcome_to3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 397px; height: 79px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_S-BzbyB89NM/SQyOjLXoIbI/AAAAAAAAAGs/e3wjA4Tg4pA/s400/Welcome_to3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5263738799487721906" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">We started off June 16, 2007 - with the <a href="http://ishtarnews.blogspot.com/2007/06/my-personal-experience-of-africa.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">first edition</span></a> and since then we have assembled such a great list of posts all telling the stories & happenings on the continent - life is going on and there is a lot to discover even for those that live here - like members of the BA team - I am sure all three of us discovered new things while looking around for interesting stories and reading through submissions.<br /></div><br />This edition has stories from Niger, Senegal, Mali, South Africa, Mozambique, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Burkina</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Faso</span> and there is also a "continental <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">playlist</span>" to celebrate our 10<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">th</span> edition - here goes ....<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Personal Experiences</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://esthergarvi.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/img_5575.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://esthergarvi.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/img_5575.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Esther</span> presents <a href="http://esthergarvi.com/2008/09/25/september-highlights-from-edens-field-station/">September highlights from Eden’s field station</a> posted at <a href="http://www.esthergarvi.com/"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">esthergarvi</span>.com</a>. "<span style="font-style: italic;">I was so happy to come back to Niger and find the country still green. It rained not too long ago, and the greenness may last for a while, even if it won’t rain again for the rest of the season.Although I haven’t been to the field station since my arrival this Tuesday, I thought I’d share some images from Eden’s field station this month.</span>"<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Axel</span> sent us <a href="http://www.axelg.com/traveling-and-personal-growth.html">Traveling And Personal Growth</a> posted at <span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">axelg</span>.com</span>. She says : "<span style="font-style: italic;">This post is about hitchhiking through Southern Africa, the experiences, the culture and what I learned in the end... </span>"<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Culture and tradition</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.szavanna.co.za/images/ndebelehousepainting.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://www.szavanna.co.za/images/ndebelehousepainting.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a href="http://www.szavanna.co.za/?p=498"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Ndebeles</span></a> is a post about the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Ndebele</span> people of South Africa posted at <a href="http://www.szavanna.co.za/"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Szavanna</span>_blog</a>.<br /><br />My pick for this section is <span style="font-weight: bold;">David</span>'s <a href="http://www.voiceinthedesert.org.uk/weblog/archives/2006/02/how_to_build_a.html">How to build a grass hut</a> posted at <span style="font-weight: bold;">Voice in the Desert</span>. "<span style="font-style: italic;">Ever wondered how the Fulani make their lovely domed huts? No? Well, I think I'll tell you anyway</span>" .... <a href="http://www.voiceinthedesert.org.uk/weblog/archives/2006/02/how_to_build_a.html">click to read</a> step by step building instructions.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sounds of Africa</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Tim Abbott</span> presents <a href="http://greensleeves.typepad.com/berkshires/2008/09/whirl-dervish-w.html">Whirl, Dervish, Whirl</a> posted at <span style="font-weight: bold;">Walking the Berkshires</span>. "<span style="font-style: italic;"> ... and the stuff coming out of Mali from musicians such as </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrzR5uNWDtA&feature=related"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">Vieux</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">Farka</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">Toure</span></a><span style="font-style: italic;"> - son of the late, great Ali <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">Farka</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">Toure</span> - and the electrified <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">Touareg</span> jams laid down by </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.myspace.com/tinariwen"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">Tinariwen</span></a><span style="font-style: italic;"> makes me want to talk a long, slow boat up the Niger and learn to race camels. Poetry in motion.</span> "<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">Szavanna</span></span> ( that's me :) put together <a href="http://www.szavanna.co.za/?p=501"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">Szavanna's</span> Top 10</a> posted at <span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">Szavanna</span>_blog</span>. "<span style="font-style: italic;">The following is a </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=AE22123042B4C453" title="http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=AE22123042B4C453" target="_blank">YouTube <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19">playlist</span></a><span style="font-style: italic;"> I put together to celebrate the 10<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20">th</span> edition of Beautiful Africa - and it is in no way the top 10 - since I don’t think this is a competition - and would probably end up with an infinite number of songs if I had more time. There is <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_21">rai</span>, reggae, blues, jazz, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_22">tuku</span> music, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_23">makosa</span> and much more.</span>"<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sights of Africa</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_24">Tauratinzwe</span></span> sent us <a href="http://observationsofafrica.blogspot.com/2007/08/fortaleza-da-ilha-de-moambique.html">Fortaleza <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_25">da</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_26">Ilha</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_27">de</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_28">Moçambique</span></a> posted at <a href="http://observationsofafrica.blogspot.com/">Observations of Africa</a>. This post is a selection of photos - "<span style="font-style: italic;">a closer look at the fort on the Island of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_29">Moçambique</span></span>".<br /><br /><br><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://peregrinebynature.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/beachkids.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 382px; height: 277px;" src="http://peregrinebynature.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/beachkids.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Kari</span> submitted <a href="http://peregrinebynature.com/http:/peregrinebynature.com/831/">Beautiful Africa</a> posted at <span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_30">peregrinebynature</span>.com</span>- under her photo she adds : "<span style="font-style: italic;">West Africa has a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_31">joie</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_32">de</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_33">vivre</span> that transcends circumstance. If only I could learn as much. Senegal, you have a beautiful smile.<br /><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_34">Alhamdulilaay</span>.</span>"<br /><br />This is all for our 10<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_35">th</span> edition, thank you so much once again for your contributions!<br /><br />Submit your blog article to the next edition of <b>beautiful <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_36">africa</span></b> using the <a target="_blank" title="Submit an entry to “beautiful africa”" href="http://blogcarnival.com/bc/submit_1701.html">carnival submission form</a>. ( If for some reason you don't manage to submit there - contact one of us via our blogs - to make sure we receive your submissions.)<br /><br />There are lots of stories we have told through the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_37">bloggers</span> that have already participated - but this collection is still just a small introduction to all that is happening on the continent - help make this collection more complete by :<br /><ul><li>sending in your own posts</li><li>or suggesting Africa related posts and blogs that could take part in <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_38">the</span> carnival<br /></li><li>and also sending in your suggestions and comments<br /></li></ul><br />many greetings to all, happy blogging!<br /><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_39">Szavanna</span> & BA TeamSzavannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11989822413189968249noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5552722555713356486.post-68056655676118344972008-10-06T09:38:00.000-07:002008-10-06T09:51:26.980-07:00Beautiful Africa is ready for its 10th edition!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_7UggR9WdMOo/SOpBmpob0lI/AAAAAAAADTo/FfY5zQslpEs/s1600-h/DSCF1084.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_7UggR9WdMOo/SOpBmpob0lI/AAAAAAAADTo/FfY5zQslpEs/s400/DSCF1084.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5254084047547388498" border="0" /></a>After a short break, the Beautiful Africa carnival is up and running again, so start collecting those posts again! If you want to help us out, feel free to recommend other Beautiful Africa posts, so that we can make this uplifting carnival come alive - big time! With all the negative publicity going on about Africa's misery and incapabilities, Africa needs a page that shows the other side of the coin: the Beautiful Africa that we all love so much!<br /><br />Posts can submitted <a href="http://blogcarnival.com/bc/submit_1701.html">here</a>. You have up until the end of October! :-)<br /><br />Greetings from Zinder, Niger!<br />Esther<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_7UggR9WdMOo/SOpBnvn5quI/AAAAAAAADTw/nEulr-MnAGY/s1600-h/DSCF1091.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_7UggR9WdMOo/SOpBnvn5quI/AAAAAAAADTw/nEulr-MnAGY/s400/DSCF1091.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5254084066335632098" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_7UggR9WdMOo/SOpBnn_zHcI/AAAAAAAADT4/Int2E9royVA/s1600-h/DSCF1098.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_7UggR9WdMOo/SOpBnn_zHcI/AAAAAAAADT4/Int2E9royVA/s400/DSCF1098.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5254084064288382402" border="0" /></a>Esther Garvihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07499704062488259082noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5552722555713356486.post-9620952709850322712008-08-18T06:17:00.001-07:002008-08-25T12:02:29.970-07:00Beautiful Africa 9th editionWelcome to the <span>9th</span> <span>edition</span> of <span class="nfakPe">Beautiful</span> Africa. Even though the editions might come a bit less regularly - we do plan to publish one every two months so keep sending in the posts.<br /><br />This <span>edition</span> includes amongst others a solar cooker recipe, writings by three very talented bloggers, you can also spend some time discovering South Africa's wildlife, get to see the Olive-backed forest robin, a newly spotted bird species from Gabon, read a post about South African jazz and also about a Malian Wassoulou musician. We do have some new contributors as well as our regular bloggers adding to the mix. Sit back and enjoy!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Personal experiences</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://esthergarvi.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/o_pict0021-20.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 245px; height: 225px;" src="http://esthergarvi.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/o_pict0021-20.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Let's start with one of <span style="font-weight: bold;">Esther</span>'s favourite posts the <a href="http://esthergarvi.com/2008/05/29/the-sauce-de-tanout-solar-cooker-recipe/">'Sauce de Tanout' Solar Cooker Recipe</a> posted at <a href="http://esthergarvi.com/" target="_blank">esthergarvi.com</a>. <span style="font-style: italic;">Esthers intro goes : "The Eden farmers and their families mix the cooked Maerua crassifolia leaves with crushed peanuts, decorate with an onion and sell it in the village. There is a lot of money to be made this way, because the meal is good!</span> <span style="font-style: italic;"> And so when making one of the two casseroles I was going to serve with the Boscia senegalensis grains a few nights ago, I did my very own take on the choice of ingredients favoured by the Eden farmers, and hence the name of the casserole: Sauce de Tanout. "</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.szavanna.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/sabychopper.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 235px; height: 176px;" src="http://www.szavanna.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/sabychopper.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>My pick as a special personal experience is <span style="font-weight: bold;">Abri</span>'s entire blog, <a href="http://uitdieblouvanonsehemel.blogspot.com/">Uit die Blou van Onse Hemel</a> - it being a collection of photos as Abri and his friend flew from Cape Town to Potchefstroom in a helicopter and decided to live-blog it all. <span style="font-style: italic;">"Two helicopter pilots on a crazy trip through and around South Africa with a Robinson 44. Our final destination is Potchefstroom where we will stay a few days before we hit the sky again to our home sweet home the Cape of Good Hope."</span> <a href="http://uitdieblouvanonsehemel.blogspot.com/">Click to visit</a> the blog and see their journey.<br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Music of Africa</span><br /><br />From <a href="http://tonymcgregor-tonysplace.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Tony's place</span></a> read <a href="http://tonymcgregor-tonysplace.blogspot.com/2008/06/kwa-tebugo-jazz-coming-home.html">Kwa Tebugo - jazz coming home</a>. <span style="font-style: italic;">"After more than 30 years, a South African musician who has achieved great acclaim in Britain and Europe is coming back to get the land of his birth jumping with the power of his backbeat."</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://soundroots.org/uploaded_images/sangare-781062.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 129px; height: 189px;" src="http://soundroots.org/uploaded_images/sangare-781062.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Next find out about <a href="http://www.szavanna.co.za/?p=480">The Songbird of Wassoulou</a> posted at <a href="http://www.szavanna.co.za/?p=480">Szavanna_blog</a>. <span style="font-style: italic;">"</span><strong style="font-style: italic;">Oumou Sangare</strong><span style="font-style: italic;"> (born </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_25" title="February 25">February 25</a><span style="font-style: italic;">, </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1968" title="1968">1968</a><span style="font-style: italic;">, in </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bamako%2C_Mali" class="mw-redirect" title="Bamako, Mali">Bamako, Mali</a><span style="font-style: italic;">) is a </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mali" title="Mali">Malian</a><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wassoulou_music" title="Wassoulou music">Wassoulou</a><span style="font-style: italic;"> musician, sometimes referred to as “The Songbird of Wassoulou.” </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wassoulou" title="Wassoulou">Wassoulou</a><span style="font-style: italic;"> is a historic region south of the </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niger_River" title="Niger River">Niger River</a><span style="font-style: italic;">, and the music there is descended from traditional hunting songs, and is accompanied by a </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calabash" title="Calabash">calabash</a><span style="font-style: italic;">."</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br />Sights of Africa</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.szavanna.co.za/images/giraffe.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 399px; height: 299px;" src="http://www.szavanna.co.za/images/giraffe.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Next up is <a href="http://www.szavanna.co.za/?p=482">Pilanesberg</a> posted at <a href="http://www.szavanna.co.za/">Szavanna_blog</a>. This is a small photoalbum introducing you to the park. "<span style="font-style: italic;">Pilanesberg Game Reserve is in the Bojanala Region of the North West Province, adjacent to Sun City. Set in the crater of a long extinct volcano, the Park ranks among the largest of the parks in South Africa (it is in fact the fourth largest park) and covers an area of 55 000 hectare.</span>"<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3227/2771358217_d3d6763111.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 184px; height: 175px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3227/2771358217_d3d6763111.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">GrrlScientist</span> presents <a href="http://scienceblogs.com/grrlscientist/2008/08/new_bird_species_discovered_in.php">New Bird Species Discovered in Gabon</a> posted at <a href="http://scienceblogs.com/">Scienceblogs.com</a>. <span style="font-style: italic;">"A new species of bird has been identified by ornithologists from the Smithsonian Institution. The bird, which was first discovered in Gabon, a small country in Africa, was unknown to the scientific community until now. Interestingly, this species is part of a larger group of closely-related birds in southwest Gabon known as the Gamba Complex."</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br /><br />Creative Writing</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Loomnie</span> submitted his <a href="http://loomnie.com/2008/08/12/fola-a-short-story/">Fola, A Short Story</a> posted at <a href="http://loomnie.com/">Loomnie.com</a>. <span style="font-style: italic;">"Fola stood before her father’s sickbed, staring at him with what seemed like rapt attention but she wasn’t seeing anything. As she stood staring, her feelings traversed the fields of sympathy, pity, disgust, and anger. These feelings were so deep that the images they called-up in her mind were so overwhelming she felt they would choke her if she didn’t run out of the hospital ward."</span><a href="http://loomnie.com/2008/08/12/fola-a-short-story/"> Click to read on</a> ...<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Rushay</span>'s <a href="http://www.rushay.org/2008/08/bmp-and-therapy-in-one-session.html">Bpm and therapy in one session</a> is next posted at <a href="http://www.rushay.org/">Rushay.org</a>. <span style="font-style: italic;">His post speaks of itself - here is the start : "Instinctively walking the path to rhythmic drum woven beats thats been manipulated digitally and fed to hungry Africans over decades have left us malnutritioned.I have given this so much thought,how music feeds a world thats hungry not just to move the body but also to feed and sustain the soul."</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Tauratinzwe</span> concludes the list of posts with <a href="http://observationsofafrica.blogspot.com/2008/03/mr-bean.html">Mr Bean</a> posted at Observations of Africa. It goes : "One day Baba Nyemba went to town to get some meat. At the butcher shop he saw a nice piece of steak in the window that was just what he wanted." <a href="http://observationsofafrica.blogspot.com/2008/03/mr-bean.html">Read on</a> to find out Baba Nyembas day at the butcher shop.<br /><br />Mr Bean's story ends this edition. Thank you so much once again for your contributions!<br />Submit your blog article to the next edition of <b>beautiful africa</b> using the <a target="_blank" title="Submit an entry to “beautiful africa”" href="http://blogcarnival.com/bc/submit_1701.html">carnival submission form</a>. Help us make this blog represent all parts of Africa - if you know of a post that would fit the idea behind this carnival - please make sure you let us know about it!<br /><br />many greetings to all, keep blogging!<br /><br />Szavanna & BA TeamSzavannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11989822413189968249noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5552722555713356486.post-43241823832960506462008-08-14T00:53:00.000-07:002008-08-14T01:04:02.319-07:009th edition coming up soonHey there!<br /><br />Just a short note to let you know that the next edition is coming up soon - you are welcome to add your posts. Personal experiences, creative writing, photoalbums, music related posts, or even a mix of all of these are welcome! If you have a post in mind, please submit it <a href="http://blogcarnival.com/bc/submit_1701.html">here</a>.<br /><br />I end with Rushay's photo - check out <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rushay/">his photos</a> on Flickr - he has a great collection!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_S-BzbyB89NM/SKPmSR0ZegI/AAAAAAAAAFE/pZkj47jnPas/s1600-h/listenuppeople.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_S-BzbyB89NM/SKPmSR0ZegI/AAAAAAAAAFE/pZkj47jnPas/s400/listenuppeople.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5234280393629858306" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Fingoville, Grahamstown, South Africa the efforts of artist to uplift the community</span><br /></div>Szavannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11989822413189968249noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5552722555713356486.post-13242309135740788882008-06-23T06:03:00.000-07:002008-06-26T05:41:17.217-07:00Beautiful Africa 8th editionGreetings to everyone - we are back with the 8th edition of carnival. The team has been quite busy this year with other projects - apologies for the delay. We will try our best to keep posting great stories so stay tuned and keep sending us your contributions.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Personal experiences</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_S-BzbyB89NM/SF-ohSrnNrI/AAAAAAAAAD8/UqCv_4aZmt0/s1600-h/bush_mechanics.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_S-BzbyB89NM/SF-ohSrnNrI/AAAAAAAAAD8/UqCv_4aZmt0/s200/bush_mechanics.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5215072183422236338" border="0" /></a><b>Tim Abbott</b> is first with <a href="http://greensleeves.typepad.com/berkshires/2007/08/teddy-landrover.html">Teddy Landrover</a> posted at <a href="http://greensleeves.typepad.com/berkshires/">Walking the Berkshires</a>, saying, "<span style="font-style: italic;">A tribite to our old landrover, and the extraordinary friendship it allowed us to establish with Namibian bush mechanics</span>."<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_S-BzbyB89NM/SF-yxGL7SdI/AAAAAAAAAEI/FAjCMGmkNis/s1600-h/heartofsand.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_S-BzbyB89NM/SF-yxGL7SdI/AAAAAAAAAEI/FAjCMGmkNis/s200/heartofsand.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5215083450062293458" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Esther</span> presents <a href="http://esthergarvi.com/2008/06/12/today-20-years-ago/">Today, 20 years ago</a> posted at her blog at <a href="http://www.esthergarvi.com/">esthergarvi.com</a> "<span style="font-style: italic;">This very day, twenty years ago, I was visiting the field station with my family to see the development of the new mud buildings that Eden was setting up in Dalli, 13 km south of Tanout city. Although the buildings themselves were nice, the field station did not make that much of an impression on my seven year old mind.</span> "<p><span style="font-weight: bold;">Loomnie</span>'s post is last in this section with <a href="http://loomnie.com/2008/06/11/yoruba-and-english-yoruba-and-french/">Yoruba and English, Yoruba and French</a> posted at Loomnie.com . "<span style="font-style: italic;">It is always interesting to speak </span><a style="font-style: italic;" class="zem_slink" title="Yoruba people" rel="wikipedia" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoruba_people">Yoruba</a><span style="font-style: italic;"> with </span><a style="font-style: italic;" class="zem_slink" title="Benin" rel="wikipedia" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benin">Beninese</a><span style="font-style: italic;"> Yoruba speakers. I – like most </span><a style="font-style: italic;" class="zem_slink" title="Nigeria" rel="wikipedia" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigeria">Nigerian</a><span style="font-style: italic;"> Yoruba speakers – don’t speak Yoruba without code-mixing, and the other language in the mélange is almost always English.</span>"<br /></p><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Culture and tradition</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_S-BzbyB89NM/SF_CIgenpeI/AAAAAAAAAEk/vTvgLD2X7vo/s1600-h/moniquemangorains.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_S-BzbyB89NM/SF_CIgenpeI/AAAAAAAAAEk/vTvgLD2X7vo/s200/moniquemangorains.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5215100344931427810" border="0" /></a><b> Peter Jones</b> presents <a href="http://indigenousissuestoday.blogspot.com/2008/02/midwifery-in-mali-working-with.html">Midwifery in Mali: Working with the Indigenous Minianka People</a> posted at <a href="http://indigenousissuestoday.blogspot.com/">Indigenous Issues Today</a>. This book review is about <span style="font-weight: bold;">Monique and the mango rains</span> - Kris Holloway’s Peace Corps experience among the Minianka indigenous peoples in Mali’s southeastern region near the Burkina Faso border. Peter writes : "<span style="font-style: italic;">The relationship between Fatumata and Monique is what makes this book succeed as it offers a unique glimpse into the day-to-day lives of the Minianka indigenous people and their contemporary struggles. The rarity of this glimpse is that we are given access to a component of Minianka life not often shared with the outside world – the inner realm of womanhood, midwifery, and childbirth.</span>"<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Arts</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_S-BzbyB89NM/SF-oEAGu73I/AAAAAAAAAD0/63APEqsPVmw/s1600-h/ChildinBlanket.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_S-BzbyB89NM/SF-oEAGu73I/AAAAAAAAAD0/63APEqsPVmw/s200/ChildinBlanket.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5215071680219508594" border="0" /></a><b>Tauratinzwe</b> sent us <a href="http://observationsofafrica.blogspot.com/2008/03/little-art-work.html">A Little Art Work</a> posted at <a href="http://observationsofafrica.blogspot.com/">Observations of Africa</a>, saying, "<span style="font-style: italic;">Lacking artistic talent myself, I can only enjoy and envy the work of those who are talented.</span>"<br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Sounds of Africa<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_S-BzbyB89NM/SGOOVdZR4WI/AAAAAAAAAE0/fBn31vQEEuI/s1600-h/yorubabatadrum.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_S-BzbyB89NM/SGOOVdZR4WI/AAAAAAAAAE0/fBn31vQEEuI/s200/yorubabatadrum.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5216169292744221026" border="0" /></a>My pick for this edition's music section comes from <a href="http://www.naijajams.com/">naijajams.com</a>, a great blog for all those interested in Nigerian music - <a href="http://www.naijajams.com/video-yoruba-bata-a-living-drum-and-dance-tradition-from-nigeria">Yoruba Bata - A Living Drum and Dance Tradition from Nigeria</a> . The YouTube description says : "<span style="font-style: italic;">Introduction to Yoruba Bata Performance as practiced in Erin-Osun, Nigeria. Featuring Lamidi Ayankunle, master Bata drummer from Erin-Osun.</span>"<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_S-BzbyB89NM/SGONA3qloSI/AAAAAAAAAEs/P24-uE1S09w/s1600-h/abdullahibrahim.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_S-BzbyB89NM/SGONA3qloSI/AAAAAAAAAEs/P24-uE1S09w/s200/abdullahibrahim.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5216167839507259682" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Szavanna</span>'s contribution to this section is Abdullah Ibrahim's classic piece - <a href="http://www.szavanna.co.za/?p=464">Mannenberg</a> posted at <a href="http://www.szavanna.co.za/">Szavanna_blog</a>. The YouTube description goes : "<span style="font-style: italic;">For the first time ever, Abdullah Ibrahim, formally known as Dollar Brand, went to Robin Island, where Mandela was imprisoned. All forms of music were banned. A lawyer smuggled one of Abdullah’s songs into the control room, blocked the doors and played it over the loud speakers. Mandela’s first sound of music in decades. </span>"<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sights of Africa</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_S-BzbyB89NM/SF-nb-wO48I/AAAAAAAAADs/AZSooU6Zfe4/s1600-h/namaqualand.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_S-BzbyB89NM/SF-nb-wO48I/AAAAAAAAADs/AZSooU6Zfe4/s200/namaqualand.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5215070992661930946" border="0" /></a><span>To end this edition</span> have a look at <a href="http://www.szavanna.co.za/?p=462">The wild flowers of Namaqualand</a> posted at <a href="http://www.szavanna.co.za/">Szavanna_blog</a>. "<span style="font-style: italic;" class="navigation">Namaqualand in the north-west of South Africa is a sunburnt and barren semi-desert. But that changes dramatically in spring, when after a short rainy season the countless wildflowers spread over the wide plains like a colourful carpet.</span>"<br /><br />That concludes this edition. Thank you for your contributions!<br />Submit your blog article to the next edition of <b>beautiful africa</b> using the <a target="_blank" title="Submit an entry to “beautiful africa”" href="http://blogcarnival.com/bc/submit_1701.html">carnival submission form</a>.<br /><br />Help us make this a great resource - please contact us if you come across great posts and bloggers that could be possible contributors to this carnival in the future.<br /><br />Warm greetings and happy blogging,<br /><br />Szavanna & BA TeamSzavannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11989822413189968249noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5552722555713356486.post-26423523112894551602008-03-18T09:10:00.000-07:002008-03-18T09:18:09.128-07:00April nextDear Beautiful Africa Readers & Participants!<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_7UggR9WdMOo/R9_qDn3WJ3I/AAAAAAAACsA/1Q41bHXoIV8/s1600-h/99+solnedg%C3%A5ng.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_7UggR9WdMOo/R9_qDn3WJ3I/AAAAAAAACsA/1Q41bHXoIV8/s400/99+solnedg%C3%A5ng.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5179115444460988274" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sunset in Zinder, Niger by Anette Bengtsson</span><br /></div><br />The 8th edition of the Beautiful Africa Blog Carnival will be posted end April, so there is ample time to assemble all those beautiful posts that highlights all the positive sides of Africa! Should the blog carnival fill up too early, it might be posted earlier, so stay tuned!<br /><br /><a href="http://blogcarnival.com/bc/submit_1701.html">You can post your entries here</a> - and if you know of a post that'd make a great submission, don't hesitate to contact any of the editors!<br /><br />Warm greetings from around the world:<br />Ishtar in Europe (for two more days), Szavanna (in South Africa) & Loomnie (in Benin)Esther Garvihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07499704062488259082noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5552722555713356486.post-6451442535480586462008-03-17T22:37:00.000-07:002008-03-18T09:08:11.115-07:00Beautiful Africa 7th editionSzavanna started this post but was not able to continue it. As I am just putting together the final touches, I thought it would be nice to let the original text stay!<br /><blockquote>Hi there - hope you are already enjoying your well-earned December breaks.<br /><br />This is the last edition for the year - and we hope to continue with new editions next year - please let us know how it went this year.<br /><br />A big thank you one more time to Ishtar, who started this initiative and is supporting it regularly even tough connectivity is not the best in Niger.</blockquote><span style="font-weight: bold;">Personal Experiences</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_7UggR9WdMOo/R0NBCIx-mSI/AAAAAAAACP8/DSz1SrlMy9E/s400/IMG_8168.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_7UggR9WdMOo/R0NBCIx-mSI/AAAAAAAACP8/DSz1SrlMy9E/s400/IMG_8168.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>The first post is by Ishtar <a href="http://ishtarnews.blogspot.com/2007/11/making-friends-at-race-track.html">Making friends at the race track</a> posted on IshtarNews - what an interesting day spend at the Zinder race track...<br /><br /><b>Tim Abbott</b> presents <a href="http://greensleeves.typepad.com/berkshires/2007/08/teddy-landrover.html">Teddy Landrover</a> posted at <a href="http://greensleeves.typepad.com/berkshires/">Walking the Berkshires</a>, saying, "A tribite to our old landrover, and the extraordinary friendship it allowed us to establish with Namibian bush mechanics."<br /><p> <b>Tauratinzwe</b> presents <a href="http://observationsofafrica.blogspot.com/2007/05/mwindaji-last-hunt.html">Observations of Africa: Mwindaji* -- The Last Hunt</a> posted at <a href="http://observationsofafrica.blogspot.com/">Observations of Africa</a>, saying, "I still get an adrenaline flow remembering this experience. There's an epilogue involving a cobra, but that's for another campfire tale." </p> <p> <b>Alison Sharley</b> presents <a href="http://www.greenme.vg/2008/03/14/hope-for-madagascar/">Hope for Madagascar</a> posted at <a href="http://www.greenme.vg/">Green Me</a>, saying, "Hi -- great to find this carnival. My post is both personal experience and that of others doing work in Madagascar. Thanks!"<br /></p><span style="font-weight: bold;">Culture and Traditions</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_7UggR9WdMOo/RxT3edIF3hI/AAAAAAAACLU/nGhfPcC8cOo/s400/IMG_7078.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_7UggR9WdMOo/RxT3edIF3hI/AAAAAAAACLU/nGhfPcC8cOo/s400/IMG_7078.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Ishtar</span> presents <a href="http://ishtarnews.blogspot.com/2007/10/ramadan-celebrations-in-zinder.html">Ramadan celebrations in Zinder</a> on <span style="font-weight: bold;">Ishtarnews</span>. The post starts saying : "<span style="font-style: italic;">This year, the Ramadan celebrations went by very quietly, due the region being split in three different groups, each choosing a different day of celebrations.</span>"<br /><h2><span style="font-size:100%;">Sights of Africa</span></h2> <p> <b>GrrlScientist</b> presents <a href="http://scienceblogs.com/grrlscientist/2007/12/mirror_image.php">Mirror Image</a> posted at <a href="http://scienceblogs.com/grrlscientist/">Living the Scientific Life</a>, saying, "this animal is almost an icon for Africa itself!"<br /></p><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sounds of Africa</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://afromusing.com/blog/wp-content/photos/NgomaProcess.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://afromusing.com/blog/wp-content/photos/NgomaProcess.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Afromusing</span> recently wrote about the CD <a href="http://www.afromusing.com/blog/2006/09/20/music-ngoma-process/">Ngoma Process</a> - The post says : "This is a CD that would fit neatly into the category ‘ World Music’, though i would call it something like Kenyan Ngoma. There is Kapuka, Genge, Bongo, time for the genre Kenya ngoma? The CD has the types of songs that have a cultural thumbprint; it is immediately identifiable to Kenyans."<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Arts & Creative Writing</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.icsw.org/publications/sdr/2003-march/images/African-girl.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://www.icsw.org/publications/sdr/2003-march/images/African-girl.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>From <span style="font-weight: bold;">Fasy's</span> blog, <span style="font-weight: bold;">The Other Side of Africa</span>, here is <a href="http://theotherafrica.blogspot.com/2007/06/fatiha-part-1.html">Fatih</a><a href="http://theotherafrica.blogspot.com/2007/06/fatiha-part-1.html">a</a> - a short story : <span style="font-style: italic;">"She is six years old and loves to listen to stories on the moonlight. Pure and innocent daughter of the Sahel, she loves to play with her friends on evenings and help milk the cows in the morning. Knee high, the only type of life she knows is happy-go-lucky."</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Nasra</span> sent us her poem entitled <a href="http://iamnasra.blogspot.com/2007/12/islands-of-moon.html">The Islands of the Moon</a> posted at <span style="font-weight: bold;">A window within Myself</span> - in her post she also writes about her experiences growing up on the Comoros Islands ....<span style="font-style: italic;">"The first time I had set foot in Comoro Islands, I was a teenager but till now I recall the scene of the road which was constructed on frozen lava. Clearly it was evidence that the island at one time had perhaps tremendous volcanic activities. .... </span>"<br /><br />That concludes this edition. Thank you for your contributions!<br /><br />Submit your blog article to the next edition of <b>beautiful africa</b> using the <span style="text-decoration: underline;"></span><a target="_blank" title="Submit an entry to “beautiful africa”" href="http://blogcarnival.com/bc/submit_1701.html">carnival submission form</a>.Szavannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11989822413189968249noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5552722555713356486.post-32192433542394418132008-03-09T14:07:00.000-07:002008-03-09T14:14:56.591-07:00Upcoming March editionHi all! This is to let you know that the Beautiful Africa Blog Carnival is finally due again on the 20th of March. Submissions can be <a href="http://blogcarnival.com/bc/submit_1701.html">entered</a> until the 17th of March. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_7UggR9WdMOo/R9RR1n3WJ2I/AAAAAAAACr0/VnvJaR65AgA/s1600-h/IMG_1625.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_7UggR9WdMOo/R9RR1n3WJ2I/AAAAAAAACr0/VnvJaR65AgA/s400/IMG_1625.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5175851853431580514" /></a>Fazuma of Niger<br /><br />In the meantime, take care!<br /><br />Ishtar & the BA teamEsther Garvihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07499704062488259082noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5552722555713356486.post-76727728236581627262008-02-01T00:29:00.000-08:002008-02-01T00:50:09.974-08:00A sign of life<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_7UggR9WdMOo/R6LbF9NkwCI/AAAAAAAACak/PlHZPwp3mzo/s1600-h/IMG_0074.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_7UggR9WdMOo/R6LbF9NkwCI/AAAAAAAACak/PlHZPwp3mzo/s400/IMG_0074.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5161929018297335842" /></a>Just wanted to let you all know that the carnival is not down - just temporarily taking a little break as all of us editors are currently buried with work and projects. Ishtar is in Niger working for the Eden Foundation, Loomnie is on a West African Tour working on his PhD and Szavanna is in South Africa juggling with far too many projects at the same time. But keep those posts ready, for as soon as one of us have (a little) time over, it'll be Beautiful Africa time again!<br /><br />Writing from a fairly cold Niger,<br />IshtarEsther Garvihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07499704062488259082noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5552722555713356486.post-54721980788531490592007-12-08T05:05:00.000-08:002007-12-08T05:12:21.232-08:00Carnival reminderHello to all those reading the carnival blog!<br /><br />We are getting ready to publish the last edition of the carnival for the year - <a href="http://blogcarnival.com/bc/submit_1701.html">please post your entries</a> - we still have spaces left for the 7th edition - on 17 December.<br /><br /><a href="http://ishtarnews.blogspot.com/">Ishtar</a> is still in Niger - check her blog for the latest - here is one of the photos she sent recently :<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_S-BzbyB89NM/R1qXtILlocI/AAAAAAAAADg/utPj_AHCzCM/s1600-h/outsidesultanspalace.jpeg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_S-BzbyB89NM/R1qXtILlocI/AAAAAAAAADg/utPj_AHCzCM/s400/outsidesultanspalace.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5141588726142837186" border="0" /></a>Outside the sultan's palace, Zinder 2007<br /></div>Szavannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11989822413189968249noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5552722555713356486.post-44555900127596236572007-11-15T06:20:00.000-08:002007-11-18T03:29:19.426-08:00Beautiful Africa - 6th edition!<div><!-- The next few lines insert the BlogCarnival LogoLink for the November 16, 2007 edition of "beautiful africa" here. Presence of the BlogCarnival LogoLink allows this carnival edition to be listed at blogcarnival.com. This example puts it in the upper right corner, but it can go anywhere in the blog post. -->Welcome to the November edition of the Beautiful Africa blog carnival!<br /><br />This month's edition introduces you to some great posts on Niger, Nigeria, South Africa & Namibia. Thanks for all those that submitted posts - looking forward to reading your future submissions in the coming months.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Personal Experiences<br /><br /></span><p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_S-BzbyB89NM/R0AYElF3t9I/AAAAAAAAACw/8xD-VSWF0aA/s1600-h/47%2BBaboab%2B02.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_S-BzbyB89NM/R0AYElF3t9I/AAAAAAAAACw/8xD-VSWF0aA/s200/47%2BBaboab%2B02.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5134130042157643730" border="0" /></a>We start with a pick from <b>Ishtar</b>'s blog called <a href="http://ishtarnews.blogspot.com/2006/12/mirriah-is-not-only-known-for-its.html">The Baobab forest</a> posted at <b>IshtarNews</b>. Ishtar's intro goes ... " <i>Mirriah is not only known for its market place however; in fact, it is even more known for its huge Baobab forest. These trees were sowed a very long time ago and are of great value to the families that owns them. During the rainy season, they produce the much desired Baobab leaves (that are sold at every market) and during the dry season, they produce the very nutritious and very tasty Baobab fruits.</i>"</p><p><!-- Carnival Submission --><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_S-BzbyB89NM/R0AZPlF3t-I/AAAAAAAAAC4/ZGQTU5T5UJE/s1600-h/scan10623.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_S-BzbyB89NM/R0AZPlF3t-I/AAAAAAAAAC4/ZGQTU5T5UJE/s200/scan10623.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5134131330647832546" border="0" /></a></p><p><b>Tim Abbott</b> presents <a href="http://greensleeves.typepad.com/berkshires/2007/08/namibeb-gure-ao.html">Namibeb Gure-aogu: The Environmental Shepherds of ≠Khoadi ||Hôas</a><a href="http://greensleeves.typepad.com/berkshires/2007/08/namibeb-gure-ao.html"> Conservancy</a> posted at <a href="http://greensleeves.typepad.com/berkshires/">Walking the Berkshires</a>, in it read about a "<i>Community Based Natural Reseource Management: empowering those who live on the land to care</i><i> for the resources on which they and wildlife depend in Namibia</i>"</p><p><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sights of Africa</span><br /></p><p><b>Tauratinzwe</b> presents <a href="http://observationsofafrica.blogspot.com/2007/07/africa-gallery.html">Observations of Africa: Africa Gallery</a> posted at <a href="http://observationsofafrica.blogspot.com/">Observations of Africa</a>. "<i>Stroll through the Africa Gallery and enjoy photos from Eastern and Southern Africa.</i>"</p><p><br /></p><p style="font-weight: bold;">Sounds of Africa<br /></p><!-- Carnival Submission --> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_S-BzbyB89NM/R0AaglF3t_I/AAAAAAAAADA/RIumrabr2n8/s1600-h/asa.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_S-BzbyB89NM/R0AaglF3t_I/AAAAAAAAADA/RIumrabr2n8/s200/asa.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5134132722217236466" border="0" /></a><b>Loomnie</b> submitted <a href="http://loomnie.com/2007/11/15/asas-fire-on-the-mountain-jailer-and-other-songs/">Asa’s Fire on the Mountain, Jailer and Other Songs</a> posted at<span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span><b>Loomnie.com</b>. "<i>Asa (pronounced asha) is a Nigerian lady who was born in Paris but grew up in Lagos. She later returned to Paris, where, according to her bio, she played with Les Nubians, Manu Dibango, Doctor L, and Tony Allen. Her first album was released on 16 October 2007. Sometimes, her lyrics are unpretentiously didactic, like in Fire on the Mountain and Jailer, but then, even those who don’t like ‘preachy’ songs will find her melody enchanting.</i>"<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_S-BzbyB89NM/R0AbR1F3uAI/AAAAAAAAADI/H4K9ClBiwqw/s1600-h/moses_molelekwa.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_S-BzbyB89NM/R0AbR1F3uAI/AAAAAAAAADI/H4K9ClBiwqw/s200/moses_molelekwa.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5134133568325793794" border="0" /></a><b>Szavanna</b> presents <a href="http://www.szavanna.co.za/?p=128">It has to do with sounds. Natural sounds from far up north. - The music of Moses Molelekwa</a> posted at <b>Szavanna_blog</b>. <i>"Moses is an unbelievably gifted jazz artist from South Africa - he tragically passed away a few years ago. The post goes ... "When I heard Moses’s music for the first time - I thought - wow - and that is all I could think of - when it comes to words - and I was just sitting there listening. The richness and shades of his sounds is amazing and comes so naturally one note after the other."<br /><br /></i><span style="font-weight: bold;">Arts and Creative Writing</span><i><br /></i><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_S-BzbyB89NM/R0AcvFF3uBI/AAAAAAAAADQ/oBlbIyp35Yk/s1600-h/abimbolapainting_new.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_S-BzbyB89NM/R0AcvFF3uBI/AAAAAAAAADQ/oBlbIyp35Yk/s200/abimbolapainting_new.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5134135170348595218" border="0" /></a><b>Nasra</b> sent us <a href="http://iamnasra.blogspot.com/2007/08/my-african-lady.html">~My African Lady~</a> posted at <a href="http://iamnasra.blogspot.com/">A window Within Myself</a>. Nasra is a poetess living in Oman - be sure to check her poetry and all the projects she is involved in.<br /><br /><b><br /></b>Another <span style="font-weight: bold;">Szavanna_blog</span> pick is <a href="http://www.szavanna.co.za/?p=374">Meeting the Prince</a>. "<i>The story of how I got to meet and work with this exceptional and talented artist from Nigeria.</i>"<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br /><br />Other</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_S-BzbyB89NM/R0AdLlF3uCI/AAAAAAAAADY/OeVzenif2-Q/s1600-h/bryan-habana.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_S-BzbyB89NM/R0AdLlF3uCI/AAAAAAAAADY/OeVzenif2-Q/s200/bryan-habana.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5134135659974866978" border="0" /></a>A pick from <span style="font-weight: bold;">Sarocks.co.za</span> - a post entitled <a href="http://sarocks.co.za/2007/10/22/bryan-habana-is-rugbys-player-of-the-year/">Bryan Habana is Rugby’s player of the year</a>. <span style="font-style: italic;">"Since I am blogging from South Africa - the boks winning the worldcup will remain an unforgettable experience no matter if one is a sports fan or not. I was glued to the TV screen during the final just like most people here - seeing the Springboks hold the cup was a special moment</span>."<br /><br /><p>The post on Bryan Habana concludes this edition. Remember to submit your blog article to the next edition of<b> beautiful africa</b> using our<a target="_blank" title="Submit an entry to “beautiful africa”" href="http://blogcarnival.com/bc/submit_1701.html"> carnival submission form</a>. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our<a target="_blank" title="Blog Carnival index for “beautiful africa”" href="http://blogcarnival.com/bc/cprof_1701.html"> blog carnival index page<br /></a></p><!-- add your technorati tags here! -->Help us make this a great resource - please contact us if you come across great posts and bloggers that could be possible contributors to this carnival in the future.<br /><br />Warm greetings and happy blogging,<br /><br />Szavanna & BA Team<br /><br />Technorati tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/beautiful+africa" rel="tag">beautiful africa</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/blog+carnival" rel="tag">blog carnival</a>.<br /></div>Szavannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11989822413189968249noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5552722555713356486.post-51158464197251419662007-11-03T03:41:00.000-07:002007-11-04T06:18:40.699-08:00Carnival reminderHi there everyone - hope you are well!<br /><br />A quick note to remind you to submit your stories, poems and other writings - <a href="http://blogcarnival.com/bc/submit_1701.html">please do so</a> - we still have spaces left for the 6th edition coming up very soon - on 18 Novemeber.<br /><br /><a href="http://ishtarnews.blogspot.com/">Ishtar</a> is still very busy in Niger - she sent us some great photos - here is one :<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_S-BzbyB89NM/Ry3Tgb9lEFI/AAAAAAAAACY/FJB3X_2YWfQ/s1600-h/zinder1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_S-BzbyB89NM/Ry3Tgb9lEFI/AAAAAAAAACY/FJB3X_2YWfQ/s400/zinder1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5128988104860176466" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">Man and son selling dates at the Zinder market<br /></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-style: italic;"></span><br />Greetings to All from South Africa!<br /><br />Anna & BA Team<br /><span style="font-style: italic;"></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-style: italic;"></span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"></span></div></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_S-BzbyB89NM/RyxRcr9lEEI/AAAAAAAAACQ/1hn8lHHqSMA/s1600-h/zinder1.jpg"><br /></a>Szavannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11989822413189968249noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5552722555713356486.post-26035837874820274722007-10-14T23:08:00.000-07:002007-10-15T21:33:37.690-07:00Beautiful Africa - 5th Edition!Welcome to the 5th edition of the carnival!!<br /><br />We start by thanking everybody who submitted a post for this edition, and also those who agreed with the BA team to have a post from their blog featured in the edition. Those submissions that are not featured now will definitely have a place in the next edition. This edition includes posts from South Africa, Namibia, Angola, Nigeria and Mali.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Personal Experience</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Ilae1Q_E5f0/RxMS4tbIE7I/AAAAAAAAACw/Vrplopxfy2A/s1600-h/medumo_final.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Ilae1Q_E5f0/RxMS4tbIE7I/AAAAAAAAACw/Vrplopxfy2A/s200/medumo_final.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5121457966725731250" border="0" /></a>We open this edition of the carnival with <span style="font-weight: bold;">Szavana</span>'s submission on her experience at the <a href="http://www.szavanna.co.za/?p=370">Medumo Jazz Fountain</a>, posted at <span style="font-weight: bold;">Szavanna_blog</span>. She calls it "A great afternoon and evening spent at a local jazz event." Artistes who played at the event include Vivid Africa, Sipho Hotstix Mabuse, and Freshlyground. She concludes the post by writing, "After the last song the audience was completely energised and you could see the positive energy in the crowd...."<br /><br />Our second post in the Personal Experience category is from <span style="font-weight: bold;">Travel Betty</span>. The post is titled <a href="http://www.travel-betty.com/terror-somewhere-high-up-over-namibia/">Terror Somewhere High Up Over Namibia</a>, posted at TravelBetty. And the post is literally about terror high up over Namibia - in a hot air ballon. In a raw and gritty way, she takes the reader through the thoughts that went through her mind just as she was about to get in the hot air ballon, and - even more gritty - her experiences riding the hot air ballon over Namib-Naukluft Park near Sossusvlei in Namibia. Brace yourself for a terrifawing (neologism from Travel Betty) experience.<br /><br />We conclude this category with a post from Angola. Posted at <span style="font-weight: bold;">Unstrung </span>, <span style="font-weight:bold;">Lara Pawson</span> writes a beautiful post titled <a href="http://unstrung-larapawson.blogspot.com/2007/07/breathing-life-into-adam.html">Breathing Life into Adam</a>. The post is about her experience in a traffic jam. A particularly impressively crafted description is of "Adam", a person she describes as "something out of a painting".<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Sounds of Africa</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Ilae1Q_E5f0/RxMxx9bIFCI/AAAAAAAAADo/lLLi474h6z8/s1600-h/220px-Amadou_Et_Mariam_-_Dimanche_A_Bamako.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Ilae1Q_E5f0/RxMxx9bIFCI/AAAAAAAAADo/lLLi474h6z8/s200/220px-Amadou_Et_Mariam_-_Dimanche_A_Bamako.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5121491935622075426" /></a><br />I doubt that the blind couple of Mali need any introduction. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Loomnie</span> presents a short post titled <a href="http://loomnie.blogspot.com/2007/05/amadou-et-miriam-bagayoko.html">Amadou et Miriam Bagayoko</a> on them, with a link to a Youtube video. I love their music, and I am sure you too will!<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Sights of Africa</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Ilae1Q_E5f0/RxMTaNbIE9I/AAAAAAAAADA/G8EPdzBMpUM/s1600-h/sunset3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Ilae1Q_E5f0/RxMTaNbIE9I/AAAAAAAAADA/G8EPdzBMpUM/s200/sunset3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5121458542251348946" border="0" /></a>Jaja presents <a href="http://burntmelons.blogspot.com/2007/09/sunset-and-september.html">Sunset and September</a>, posted at <span style="font-weight: bold;">And as I was saying...</span>. Although there is no simple way to describe this post, one could say it is a mixture of picture and poetry; the deep feelings it evokes is what happens when you bring out beauty from a place like the Niger-Delta area of Nigeria, an area that is more popular for violence than beauty. The beauty is so haunting that it has generated not less than 60 comments.<br /><br />Tim of <span style="font-weight: bold;">Walking the Berkshires</span> presents <a href="http://greensleeves.typepad.com/berkshires/2007/05/adaptation.html">Adaptation</a>, a post of a picture of a coppiced mopane tree that mirrors a "braided track with its reflecting pools of water". It is more than just a picture; it leads to a personal reflection. He says, in the closing paragraph, "...sometimes you have to stay on the path and apply steady pressure rather than striking out on your own".<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Ilae1Q_E5f0/RxMkttbIE-I/AAAAAAAAADI/E101Z8xvoKY/s1600-h/EtoshaJeeps.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Ilae1Q_E5f0/RxMkttbIE-I/AAAAAAAAADI/E101Z8xvoKY/s200/EtoshaJeeps.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5121477568956470242" /></a>Our third entry in this category is <a href="http://www.farexplore.com/2007/09/14/etosha.html">Etosha National Park, Namibia: Safari on the Salt Pana</a> posted at <span style="font-weight:bold;">Far Explore</span>. The pictures are from a place decribed in the post as "one of the world’s great national parks".<br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Culture & Tradition</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Tauratinzwe</span> presents <a href="http://observationsofafrica.blogspot.com/2007/09/parable-of-loerie.html">Parable of the Loerie</a> posted at <span style="font-weight:bold;">Observations of Africa</span>, saying, "A little story set in Southern Africa with a message for the wise." It is a story I am sure you will all enjoy.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Creative Writing</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Ilae1Q_E5f0/RxMrQNbIE_I/AAAAAAAAADQ/tlWcJbj5MdY/s1600-h/jaja.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Ilae1Q_E5f0/RxMrQNbIE_I/AAAAAAAAADQ/tlWcJbj5MdY/s200/jaja.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5121484758731723762" /></a><span style="font-weight:bold;">Atutupoyoyo</span> presents <a href="http://atutupoyoyoblog.blogspot.com/2007/09/onthe-brief-meeting-between-sherlock.html">On……the brief meeting between Sherlock Holmes and King Jaja of Opobo</a>, posted at <span style="font-weight:bold;">On..................Everything</span>. It is just what it says it is: a meeting between Sherlock Holmes and King Jaja of Opobo, of couse, with Watson in attendance. King Jaja was a merchant who founded the Opobo city-state in present day Nigeria. He was born in 1821 in Amaigbo, was sold into slavery at about age twelve, but later became a successful merchant whose city-state came to dominate the palm-oil trade in the the region. For more on him click <a href="http://purpleplanetmedia.com/bhp/pages/jaja.shtml">here</a>. I don't think I have to add that Atutu's post is a fiction.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Others</span><br />To close this edition of the carnival, we are featuring <a href="http://blog.iamnotashamed.net/2006/09/30/continentism-lets-stop-talking-about-africa/">Continentism: Let’s stop talking about “AFRICA”</a>, a post from <span style="font-weight:bold;">Ariah Fine</span>, posted at <span style="font-weight:bold;">Trying to Follow</span>. The post stems from a frustration at the way Africa is described in the global media. I think anybody who has been to any African country, and who sees the representation of Africa, especially in campaigns for charity, would understand his reaction.<br /><br />I hope you enjoy this edition of the carnival, and that you are inspired to contribute to future editions of the carnival.<br /><br />For submissions to the next edition please user our submission <a href="http://blogcarnival.com/bc/submit_1701.html">form</a>. The November edition is reviewed by <a href="http://www.szavanna.co.za/">Szavanna</a>. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival <a href="http://blogcarnival.com/bc/cprof_1701.html">index page</a>.<br /><br />Warm greetings,<br />Loomnie & the BA Team.loomniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03544873167025835642noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5552722555713356486.post-28528686222518816672007-10-04T03:16:00.001-07:002007-10-04T04:04:17.568-07:00Carnival ReminderHello Friends of the Beautiful Africa Blog Carnival!! This is to remind you that we are currently recieving submissions for the October edition. The edition will be available on October 16, and we will recieve submissions till October 15. To submit an entry, please click <a href="http://blogcarnival.com/bc/submit_1701.html">here</a>.<br /><br />Waiting to hear from you all!<br /><br />Loomnie and the BA team.<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Ilae1Q_E5f0/RwS-0NbIE3I/AAAAAAAAACQ/gBCTe7nf0WI/s1600-h/viewphoto.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Ilae1Q_E5f0/RwS-0NbIE3I/AAAAAAAAACQ/gBCTe7nf0WI/s320/viewphoto.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5117424880765637490" /></a><br />The above picture is from <a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/07353421359476375403">Jaja</a>. Jaja blogs from Nigeria. Visit his <a href="http://burntmelons.blogspot.com/">blog</a> for more from himloomniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03544873167025835642noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5552722555713356486.post-15181568384049138222007-09-15T09:00:00.000-07:002007-09-15T06:08:33.593-07:00Beautiful Africa - 4th edition!Welcome to the 4th edition of the carnival!<br /><br />As always, this month's selection includes great submissions as well as some posts chosen by the BA team. This month's edition includes posts about Tanzania, Namibia, Niger, South Africa, Mali, Nigeria - sit back and enjoy!<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Personal experiences<br /></span><br /><span>As a perfect start to this month's stories</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 255, 153);"> Tauratinzwe</span> presents <a href="http://observationsofafrica.blogspot.com/2007/03/karibu-kwa-afrika.html">Karibu kwa Afrika</a> at <span style="font-weight: bold;">Observations of Africa.</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">"Back in time to 1970 when, fresh out of university, I first arrived in Africa. It seems like yesterday"</span> . He tells us about the day he arrived in Arusha, Tanzania for the very first time.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_S-BzbyB89NM/RusVC9_vR2I/AAAAAAAAAB4/AIh21NdCKKo/s1600-h/timefortea.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 97px; height: 148px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_S-BzbyB89NM/RusVC9_vR2I/AAAAAAAAAB4/AIh21NdCKKo/s200/timefortea.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5110201342927783778" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 255, 153);">Ishtar</span>'s <a href="http://ishtarnews.blogspot.com/2007/08/time-for-tea.html">Time for tea</a> at IshtarNews is a shorter piece that explains why tea drinking is such an important tradition in many parts of Africa - read the post to get the feel for all the ingredients of a "tea drinking event" in Niger.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 255, 153);">Keith</span> presents <a href="http://www.voiceinthedesert.org.uk/keith/archives/2007/07/they_have_so_li.html">They have so little, but</a> posted at <span style="font-weight: bold;">Under the Acacias</span>. His experiences with the communities of Burkina Faso made him reexamine many of today's destructive habits in the Western world - read his thoughts on this topic.<br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><br />Sounds of Africa<br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br />I believe that the stories told by songs and instruments can be a powerful way of conveying a message or introducing a country and its people. In this section I am introducing you to two musicians - one from Mali the other from South Africa both playing the blues in their own unique way.</span></span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_S-BzbyB89NM/RusiBt_vR3I/AAAAAAAAACA/dobV4OAA7QI/s1600-h/hannescoetzee.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_S-BzbyB89NM/RusiBt_vR3I/AAAAAAAAACA/dobV4OAA7QI/s200/hannescoetzee.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5110215615104108402" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 255, 153);">Rouvanne</span> presents <a href="http://insidepeakperformances.blogspot.com/2007/04/unique-slide-guitar-with-spoon-hannes.html">Unique slide-guitar with a spoon - Hannes Coetzee to the USA</a> at <span style="font-weight: bold;">Peak People : an inside look</span>. <span style="font-style: italic;">"Hannes Coetzee, an old spoon-sliding guitarist who burst onto the music scene in 2003 as part of the Karoo Kitaar Blues project with South Africa’s </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://insidepeakperformances.blogspot.com/2006/10/david-kramers-onnerwater.html">David Kramer</a><span style="font-style: italic;">, comes from the small Karoo town of Herberstdale."</span> His unique quitar style has since become world famous - to see what I mean - visit Rouvanne's post and check the video with Hannes' performace.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blog.uhuru.de/wp-content/Room2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://blog.uhuru.de/wp-content/Room2.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 255, 153);">Kikuyumoja</span> presents <a href="http://blog.uhuru.de/2005/11/06/je-chanterai-pour-toi/">Je chanterai pour toi</a> at <span style="font-weight: bold;">Kikuyumoja's realm</span> . His post introduces you to Boubacar Traore, or Kar Kar as he is known - one of the great masters of the Malian blues. <span style="font-style: italic;">"KarKar uses those old melodies that are believed to be our national heritage. He has given them a new meaning"</span> - says the post which has a lot more info about the man and the documentary created about his life.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Sights of Africa</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 255, 153);">Vaibhav</span> presents <a href="http://blog.gadodia.net/never-seen-anything-like-this-in-my-life/">Never seen anything like this in my life</a> at <span style="font-weight: bold;">Habitually good</span>. The post is about the video called "The Battle of Kruger" - <span style="font-style: italic;">"Lions playing tug-o-war with a crocodile over a buffalo calf they just caught. And this is not even half the drama that unfolds in this 8 minute video."</span> I have been to the Kruger National Park many times - and every day I spent there was full of experiences I will never forget. Watch the video to get the idea.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Culture & Traditions</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_S-BzbyB89NM/RusSnN_vR1I/AAAAAAAAABw/5eoHpzCaOWQ/s1600-h/zinder_parade.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_S-BzbyB89NM/RusSnN_vR1I/AAAAAAAAABw/5eoHpzCaOWQ/s200/zinder_parade.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5110198667163158354" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 255, 153);">Ishtar</span> presents <a href="http://ishtarnews.blogspot.com/2006/12/national-day-celebrations-continues-at.html">National Day celebrations continues at the race track</a> at <span style="font-weight: bold;">IshtarNews</span>. This is Ishtar's second post on the national day celebrations in Zinder (Niger) - <span style="font-style: italic;">"I have yet to see my first camel race in Zinder! Somehow I always tend to miss it; but on the other hand, this particular afternoon was filled with so much program that by the end of the day you just could not desire more..."</span> - to get the full story, best is to read the two posts together - perfect selection of photos that talk for themselves.<span style=";font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 255, 153);">Tim Abbott</span> presents <a href="http://greensleeves.typepad.com/berkshires/2007/08/the-name-of-the.html">The Name of the Rain is It Will Come</a> at <span style="font-weight: bold;">Walking the Berkshires</span>. <span style="font-style: italic;">"Waiting is not always enough. Sometimes it takes the best that you have to bring the rain."</span> - Tim tells about the people of Owamboland in Namibia and the traditions they practise to help bring the long awaited rain.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Creative Writing</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://refinedone.files.wordpress.com/2007/05/imagescav5ug69.jpg?w=157&h=85"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://refinedone.files.wordpress.com/2007/05/imagescav5ug69.jpg?w=157&h=85" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 255, 153);">RefinedOne</span> ends this edition of the carnival with <a href="http://refinedone.wordpress.com/2007/05/14/eko-ile-you-just-got-to-luv-her/">Eko ile! ….you just got to luv her</a> at the <span style="font-weight: bold;">RefinedOne</span> blog. A beautiful poem about Lagos - as she explains : <span style="font-style: italic;">"to help you get a feel of Lagos… try putting NewYork city, Florida, Hollywood LA, and not forget the flavours of Islands, and maybe you’ll get the feel of this little/big city"</span>.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">I hope you enjoyed this month's selection and that the posts above inspired you to write posts that can become part of future editions of this carnival.<br /><br />If you have a new post to submit for the October edition please use our <a target="_blank" title="Submit an entry to “beautiful africa”" href="http://blogcarnival.com/bc/submit_1701.html">carnival submission form</a>, the October posts will be reviewed by <a href="http://loomnie.blogspot.com/">Loomnie</a>. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our <a target="_blank" title="Blog Carnival index for “beautiful africa”" href="http://blogcarnival.com/bc/cprof_1701.html"> blog carnival index page</a>.</div><br />Greetings to All,<br />Szavanna and the BA TeamSzavannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11989822413189968249noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5552722555713356486.post-24864200694394665382007-09-10T21:17:00.001-07:002007-09-10T21:43:40.443-07:004th edition coming up soonJust a short post to let you know that the September edition will be available on Saturday, the 15h with great posts as always this time reviewed by Szavanna.<br /><br />Though we have a lot of great submissions already you are welcome to <a href="http://blogcarnival.com/bc/submit_1701.html">submit new entries</a> - if you don't see your post in this edition, it will definitely be published in the next one.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_S-BzbyB89NM/RuYYEh9UiII/AAAAAAAAABY/lKmm8PjeYQY/s1600-h/ishtar_image.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 398px; height: 296px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_S-BzbyB89NM/RuYYEh9UiII/AAAAAAAAABY/lKmm8PjeYQY/s320/ishtar_image.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5108797293412518018" border="0" /></a>This photo is taken by Ishtar somewhere on the border between Nigeria and Niger.<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://ishtarnews.blogspot.com/">Visit IshtarNews</a> to read the latest from Ishtar.<br /></div>Szavannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11989822413189968249noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5552722555713356486.post-3583969360412492212007-08-16T01:55:00.000-07:002007-08-16T05:11:39.520-07:00Beautiful Africa - 3rd edition!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/1858/4385/400/29%20Chinada.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/1858/4385/400/29%20Chinada.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Proud to present the 3rd edition of the one and only Beautiful Africa Blog Carnival - filled with a number of genuine quality posts that each in their own way have captured African highlights - as varied as they can be! We are glad to welcome onboard new contributers from Burkina Faso, Kenya, Zimbabwe and Mocambique, adding to our list of participating countries!<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Personal experience</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.szavanna.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/south-africa1.thumbnail.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://www.szavanna.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/south-africa1.thumbnail.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 255, 153);">Szavanna </span>is first up today, presenting <a href="http://www.szavanna.co.za/?p=325">A country for Xmas</a> posted at <span style="font-weight: bold;">Szavanna_blog</span>, which describes her first encounter with South Africa coming straight from Hungary. An interesting read on multi-cultural experiences on a generously personal note. "<span style="font-style: italic;">I must say that though my second home can be an unbelievably hectic place to live in,"</span> Szavanna writes, <span style="font-style: italic;">"it is also a treasure chest of amazing traditions, beautiful landscapes & great music - all of which I could never have experienced, seen or heard - have I decided not to get on that plane to Joburg."</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://greensleeves.typepad.com/berkshires/images/2007/08/06/sister_lidwina_and_me_1992.gif"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://greensleeves.typepad.com/berkshires/images/2007/08/06/sister_lidwina_and_me_1992.gif" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 255, 153);">Tim Abbott</span> presents <a href="http://greensleeves.typepad.com/berkshires/2007/08/sr-magdelena-an.html">I Bury the Dead And Start a Friendship</a> posted at <span style="font-weight: bold;">Walking the Berkshires</span>, explaining in his own words: <span style="font-style: italic;">"Another life lesson from my years in Namibia."</span> This post is a global highlight, showing how people from different citizenship, colour and religion come together in times of difficulties and make ever lasting friends.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 255, 153);">Loomnie </span>writes about life observation on a bus deck, in his post <a href="http://loomnie.blogspot.com/2007/08/respect.html">Respect</a> posted at <span style="font-weight: bold;">loomnie</span>. Very interesting food for thought, well worthy of your time! <span style="font-style: italic;">"Whatever you think," </span>Loomnie concludes, <span style="font-style: italic;">"each time you disembark from the bus you leave with a renewed feeling of respect for the stories their faces tell, for their resilience, for taking charge, and for constituting a very important part of the economic life of Nigeria."</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Sights of Africa</span><br /><br />This section specially introduced for this edition, provides us with a visual Smörgåsbord of African impressions!<br /><br />First out in this category is <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 255, 153);">Tauratinzwe </span>who presents some beautiful pictures from Zimbabwe, in the post <a href="http://observationsofafrica.blogspot.com/2007_02_01_archive.html#1633020969502389940">Mosi-oa-tunya</a> posted at the site <span style="font-weight: bold;">Observations of Africa</span>. <span style="font-style: italic;">"The beauty of Victoria Falls, Mosi-oa-tunya, is overwhelming,"</span> the author writes. <span style="font-style: italic;">"The rainbows are stupendous and, on special full moon lit nights, moonbows accent the view..."</span> If one did not already now that Victoria Falls were breathtakingly beautiful, one will know now!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://voiceinthedesert.netfirms.com/weblog/archives/images/photo1.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://voiceinthedesert.netfirms.com/weblog/archives/images/photo1.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 255, 153);">Sahelsteve </span>represents one of the editor's pick this edition, with this amazing picture of <a href="http://www.voiceinthedesert.org.uk/weblog/archives/2004/07/fulani_commutin.html">Fulani commuting</a> posted at <span style="font-weight: bold;">Voice in the Desert</span>. Coming from a similar sandy landscape, my delight and fascination should come as no surprise. Now I'm only eager to hear your own thoughts on the matter, so click away, have a closer look and then come back to post your impressions! I wonder if this isn't the sort of picture that will inspire Izz to write a book!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 255, 153);">Omyword </span>wraps up this category with some true African beauty caught by the professionals in her post <a href="http://triomfmovie.blogspot.com/2007/08/beautiful-africa-blog-carnival-sunset.html">Sunset in Beira Moçambique</a> posted at <span style="font-weight: bold;">Triomf Movie</span>.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Culture & Traditions</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 255, 153);">Keith </span>(another editor's pick) presents <a href="http://www.voiceinthedesert.org.uk/keith/archives/2007/08/happy_birthday.html">Happy Birthday Burkina Faso!</a> posted at <span style="font-weight: bold;">Under the Acacias</span> where he tells the story behind Burkina Faso's Indepence Day and the pride that the citizens share.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Other</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://g-ec2.images-amazon.com/images/I/41D71ZQG1XL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-dp-500-arrow,TopRight,45,-64_OU01_AA240_SH20_.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://g-ec2.images-amazon.com/images/I/41D71ZQG1XL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-dp-500-arrow,TopRight,45,-64_OU01_AA240_SH20_.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 255, 153);">howidiedtoday </span>presents a good read in her post <a href="http://www.travel-betty.com/travel-betty-recommends-west-with-the-night-as-a-good-summer-read/">Recommending West With The Night As A Good Summer Read</a> posted at <span style="font-weight: bold;">Travel Betty</span>, adding: <span style="font-style: italic;">"Hi Ishtar [and everybody else!], I just finished this book and have been recommending it to everyone. The writing is superb and the portrayal of Kenya is certainly refreshing. I think you'd love it!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Thanks,</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Travel Betty"</span><br />Thanks for the tip, Betty!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_7UggR9WdMOo/RmqGAPTlzdI/AAAAAAAABbM/fchG0oBcYuM/s400/IMG_2321.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_7UggR9WdMOo/RmqGAPTlzdI/AAAAAAAABbM/fchG0oBcYuM/s400/IMG_2321.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 255, 153);">Ishtar </span>presents <a href="http://ishtarnews.blogspot.com/2007/06/niger-in-news.html">Niger in the news</a> posted at <span style="font-weight: bold;">Ishtar News</span>. This post compares firsthand experience with the vastly different picture presented in the news. This article actually highlights the main reasons why the Beautiful Africa Blog Carnival was founded in the first place, because as we know (but so rarely see!) there is more to Africa than what hits the news. <span style="font-style: italic;">"Despite being the least developed country in the world, Niger has a wonderful and rich culture; a beautiful horizontal landscape with an amazing variety of colors (red dirt and white sand mixed under a deep blue sky, dotted with green acacia trees), unique values and its own "slow-slow" pace. Stress is not heard of in Niger. People generally take life as it is and do not care for our Western ambitions."</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://voiceinthedesert.netfirms.com/keith/archives/Market1-thumb.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://voiceinthedesert.netfirms.com/keith/archives/Market1-thumb.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 255, 153);">Keith </span>gets to end this edition with a wonderful post entitled <a href="http://voiceinthedesert.netfirms.com/keith/archives/2005/02/i_love_africa.html">I love Africa</a> posted at <span style="font-weight: bold;">Under the Acacias</span>. This post too was an editor's choice... Hope you enjoy it as much as we did!<br />Warm greetings and big applauses for all the contributions! You certainly contributed to a rich edition!<br /><br />... Now on to the comments! [This is where you come in...]<br /><br />Will leave you with the standard carnival ending:<br /><blockquote> Thank you for your contributions. That concludes this edition.<br /><br />Submit your blog article to the next edition of beautiful africa using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.</blockquote>Warm greetings,<br />Ishtar & the BA TeamEsther Garvihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07499704062488259082noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5552722555713356486.post-30005791309060199942007-08-15T08:56:00.000-07:002007-08-15T09:08:28.424-07:00<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_7UggR9WdMOo/RsMjfeIlliI/AAAAAAAAB8k/S37ecPP7S-4/s1600-h/61+DSCN3523.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_7UggR9WdMOo/RsMjfeIlliI/AAAAAAAAB8k/S37ecPP7S-4/s400/61+DSCN3523.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5098958226685531682" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Nomad gathering - photo from <a href="http://ishtarnews.blogspot.com/2006/12/president-visits-camel-camp.html">Ishtar News</a></span></span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"></span></div><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span></span>The 3rd edition is coming up soon. Only one day left!<br /><br />Just wanted to let you all know that any post that has qualified but does not make it to this carnival edition due to lack of space, will be reported to the next edition. In other words, you will not have to resubmit. At present, the Beautiful Africa carnival is running once a month, but as interest increases, we plan to run the carnival more often.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_7UggR9WdMOo/RsMjfOIllhI/AAAAAAAAB8c/18GwWqL3lzk/s1600-h/61+PICT0016.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_7UggR9WdMOo/RsMjfOIllhI/AAAAAAAAB8c/18GwWqL3lzk/s400/61+PICT0016.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5098958222390564370" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Nomad gathering - photo from <a href="http://ishtarnews.blogspot.com/2006/12/president-visits-camel-camp.html">Ishtar News</a><br /></span><br /></span></div>Since opening this Beautiful Africa site, we've had visitors from 58 cities. Our top visitors seen by the amount of time spent on the site (reading through the material and checking on the links!) are as following:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">1. Stuttgart</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />2. Pleasanton</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />3. Danderyd</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />4. Falkenberg</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />5. Paris</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />6. Ashburn</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />7. Tampa</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />8. Hot Springs Village</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />9. Gothenburg/Göteborg</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />10. Johannesburg</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />11. Bologna</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />12. Cardiff</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />13. Herndon</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />14. Mulhouse</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />15. Berkeley</span><br /><br />Hope you find your town of residence on the list! If not, you might want to think about visiting more often...<br /><br />See you all tomorrow!<br />The BA teamEsther Garvihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07499704062488259082noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5552722555713356486.post-50249596500038438002007-08-08T16:07:00.000-07:002007-08-08T16:17:47.306-07:00Third edition approaches!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_7UggR9WdMOo/RppaEA-L0qI/AAAAAAAABoQ/xXm1RL7rfKE/s1600-h/64+PICT0064.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_7UggR9WdMOo/RppaEA-L0qI/AAAAAAAABoQ/xXm1RL7rfKE/s400/64+PICT0064.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5087477754095194786" border="0" /></a>Just wanted to let you know that the next edition of Beautiful Africa is due in a week. Time to read through your blog again and look at the posts you've written (in order to see if there is anything amidst all the lines that you've already written that has captured a Beautiful African issue in a positive or constructive way); or, to sit down and write something according to your heart's desire. Will not post site promotions (hotels & rentals), off-topic issues or negative rants however, so if you want to portray a problem, you need to offer some sort of a solution as well... Constructiveness is the key!<br /><br />You can submit your contribution to the upcoming carnival edition by clicking <a href="http://blogcarnival.com/bc/submit_1701.html">here</a>.<br /><br />Greetings from the BA teamEsther Garvihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07499704062488259082noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5552722555713356486.post-16694872251084083742007-08-01T13:18:00.000-07:002007-08-01T13:24:29.154-07:00Global visitors<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_7UggR9WdMOo/RrDrYuIlkdI/AAAAAAAABxU/v-04iC46Urs/s1600-h/61+DSCN3565.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_7UggR9WdMOo/RrDrYuIlkdI/AAAAAAAABxU/v-04iC46Urs/s400/61+DSCN3565.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5093829988489466322" border="0" /></a>Well, since this site opened a few days ago, we have had visitors from Falkenberg, Halle, Kuala Lumpur, Cape Town and Mumbai!<br /><br />Will be fun in a month's time to check out the keywords that brings people over... :-) They're hilarious over at <a href="http://ishtarnews.blogspot.com/2007/06/how-people-find-to-my-blog.html">Ishtar News</a>. In fact, that reminds me that I have to write another post about it soon!<br /><br />Now by the way, the <span style="font-weight: bold;">next edition</span> of <span style="font-weight: bold;">Beautiful Africa</span> is due on <span style="font-weight: bold;">August 16th. </span>Time to start looking over your blogs!<br /><br />Warm greetings from a chilly Sweden,<br />IshtarEsther Garvihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07499704062488259082noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5552722555713356486.post-80846369922427789142007-07-20T12:00:00.000-07:002007-08-12T15:54:01.121-07:00Beautiful Africa - 2nd edition!Welcome to the second edition of the Beautiful Africa blog carnival! There is a wider spectrum of countries being represented this time, which gladdens me!<br /><p><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/4694/teddyyamgn2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/4694/teddyyamgn2.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>We start off with Nigeria, where <b>Ugo Daniels</b> presents <a href="http://www.africanloft.com/iwa-ji-ofu-new-yam-festival-in-igboland/">Iwa Ji Ofu (New Yam Festival) in Igboland!</a> posted at <a href="http://www.africanloft.com/">AfricanLoft</a>. "The Iwa Ji Afo is one of the biggest festivals celebrated by the Igbos," Ugo writes. "This day symbolizes the conclusion of a work cycle and the beginning of another." Just like another AfricanLoft reader commented, this post awakens my memories of Chinua Achebe’s <span style="font-style: italic;">Things Fall Apart</span>. I wish I had had this post at hand when I tried to explain the importance of yam to fellow students. Thanks for reminding us, Ugo!<br /><br />Next up is <b>Omodudu</b> who presents <a href="http://www.omodudu.com/2007/05/to-west-night-in-cocody.html">A Night In Cocody</a> posted at <a href="http://www.omodudu.com/">Omodudu</a>, saying, "Just reminscing about Cote D'Ivoire!" An interesting read about how something you don't understand and in many ways don't appreciate, still manages to win your heart.<br /><!-- Carnival Submission --> <!-- Carnival Submission --> <!-- Carnival Submission --> </p><p> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://szavannablog.files.wordpress.com/2007/04/phindi_bd_final.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://szavannablog.files.wordpress.com/2007/04/phindi_bd_final.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><b>Szavanna</b> presents <a href="http://www.szavanna.co.za/?p=127">Ramatlabama girl</a> posted at <a href="http://www.szavanna.co.za/">Szavanna_blog</a><br />where she shares her encounters with an easy-going young girl called Phindi who in 2002 was into <span style="font-style: italic;">Footy </span>(a south african sport, in case you were wondering...) and was interested in learning computer skills. This post is about following your heart and achieving things that other people may very well deem impossible for you. A valuable read!<br /></p><p> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.kateandneil.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/07/africa.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://www.kateandneil.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/07/africa.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><b>Neil Ransom</b> presents <a href="http://www.kateandneil.com/65/country-count-at-139-and-falling/">Country Count 139 and Falling</a> posted at <a href="http://www.kateandneil.com/">Kate and Neil's Official Website</a>. He grew up in Nairobi, Kenya, leaving when he was 18. "Now, 8 years later, most of what I experience of Africa is the language Americans use to describe it.<br />The African continent has 54 sovereign nations, colors ranging from dark black to bright white, hundreds of unique cultures, and thousands of languages and dialects. Grouping these 54 countries into one is akin to grouping North and South America, Europe, and the Middle East. It would be like me saying, “oh, I just got back from Norsamereuromiddast…" I really enjoyed this post.<br /></p><p>Back to Nigeria, <span style="font-weight: bold;">Loomnie </span>inofficially presents <a href="http://loomnie.blogspot.com/2007/01/on-friendship.html">On Friendship</a> posted at <a href="http://loomnie.blogspot.com/">Loomnie</a>. He asked me to look through his site, and I picked out this post because of its genuineness.</p><p>In the previous Beautiful Africa Carnival, <span style="font-weight: bold;">Tim Abbott</span> presented <span style="font-style: italic;">1/3 of the Water Planet</span>. This time he presents <a href="http://greensleeves.typepad.com/berkshires/2007/07/the-waters-prev.html">The Waters Prevailed Exceedingly Upon the Earth</a> posted at Walking the Berkshire. Go and have a look!<br /></p> <!-- Carnival Submission --> <p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_7UggR9WdMOo/RYxEWldvI2I/AAAAAAAAAdo/jw9ObSQwEcY/s400/64+PICT0107.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_7UggR9WdMOo/RYxEWldvI2I/AAAAAAAAAdo/jw9ObSQwEcY/s400/64+PICT0107.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Bringing full focus to Niger<b>,</b> <span style="font-weight: bold;">Ishtar </span>(that would be me, yes) presents <a href="http://ishtarnews.blogspot.com/2006/12/national-day-in-zinder-parade.html">Niger's national parade</a> posted at <a href="http://ishtarnews.blogspot.com/">Ishtar News</a>, which shows the great variety of cultural richness and heritage that resides within the same country border. Niger is not alone in being shared by a number of different people, all with their own language and cultural heritage. 2006 saw Niger's national day being celebrated in Zinder and the 1½ hour long parade that passed on our street really impressed me, because it brought together people from all corners of the country, each proudly displaying their own heritage, and yet unified under the same flag. </p> <!-- EDIT THIS: the conclusion begins with this paragraph: --> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_7UggR9WdMOo/Rp_HWA-L0wI/AAAAAAAABpA/JgZJEnTfq_U/s1600-h/Izz.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_7UggR9WdMOo/Rp_HWA-L0wI/AAAAAAAABpA/JgZJEnTfq_U/s200/Izz.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5089005284983821058" border="0" /></a>Now, last but not least, <b>Izz</b> wraps us this edition with his contribution <span style="text-decoration: underline;"></span><a href="http://izzonlinepoetry.blogspot.com/2007/07/i-am-what-i-am.html">I am what I am</a> posted at <a href="http://izzonlinepoetry.blogspot.com/">Izzonline poetry</a>, saying, "This is a poem that celebrates my life as an African." A wonderful and touching read which concludes: "I am what I am, because my Africa is beautiful." A great ending the Beautiful Africa Carnival Edition!<br /><br />That concludes this edition. Thank you for your contributions! The next carnival is scheduled on the 18th of August. All in all, thirteen contributions were submitted, of which eight were accepted.<br /><br />Submit your blog article to the next edition of <b>beautiful africa</b> using our <a target="_blank" title="Submit an entry to “beautiful africa”" href="http://blogcarnival.com/bc/submit_1701.html">carnival submission form</a>. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our <a target="_blank" title="Blog Carnival index for “beautiful africa”" href="http://blogcarnival.com/bc/cprof_1701.html"> blog carnival index page</a>.<br /><br />IshtarEsther Garvihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07499704062488259082noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5552722555713356486.post-58815490484165011202007-07-15T12:00:00.000-07:002007-07-27T07:57:12.204-07:00Deadline due in three days<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_7UggR9WdMOo/RppaEQ-L0rI/AAAAAAAABoY/uvdX0Vb3Fp4/s1600-h/46+Mirriah+12+extra.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_7UggR9WdMOo/RppaEQ-L0rI/AAAAAAAABoY/uvdX0Vb3Fp4/s400/46+Mirriah+12+extra.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5087477758390162098" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_7UggR9WdMOo/RppaEQ-L0sI/AAAAAAAABog/pd54uK_RPVQ/s1600-h/46+Mirriah+09.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_7UggR9WdMOo/RppaEQ-L0sI/AAAAAAAABog/pd54uK_RPVQ/s400/46+Mirriah+09.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5087477758390162114" border="0" /></a><p> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Just wanted to remind you all that the deadline for the Beautiful Africa is in three days. Time flies!<br /></span></p> IshtarEsther Garvihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07499704062488259082noreply@blogger.com0