THE CAMELS OF DJIBOUTI

The camels of Djibouti have one hump and are called dromedary camels. They are very interesting and always around - on the road, by the road, in the villages, in the cities, in the countryside. Usually a nomadic family will have a herd of goats, a few camels and maybe sheep. The camel may be used to transport wood, water, building materials, food etc. But, most are sold to Dubai where they are fattened up and slaughtered for their delicious meat. Djiboutian camels are prized and much sought after in the Middle East. I am told that there are no large camel producers. Buyers of camels for the meat market, purchase the camels from individual nomads, consolidate them and ship them amass to Dubai for processing.

We see the camels hobbled at night and tethered to trees near the villages. The baby camels are many times seen enclosed in a makeshift cage around a tree for shade inside the village compound itself.

At this time of year, at the end of the hot season, the camel is without much fur. But as the season gets cooler they will get furrier. The group of camels you see pictured are contained and awaiting transport via ship out of Djibouti City to Dubai. They are brought here in open trucks, from as far away as Ethiopia, traveling on their knees for 2 days or more. This website gives some interesting information about the dromedary camel: www.garden-city.org/zoo/animalinfo/Mammals/dromedary_camel.htm

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL - A UNIVERSAL THEME

In Djibouti city this morning, it was nothing but gridlock surrounding each Djiboutian public school, especially the big one downtown. Cars were parked everywhere, with traffic going nowhere, as students returned to school after the long summer break. Anxious parents lined the dirt walkways nearby and held the hands of young ones crossing the street. And, all of the children, from the smallest kidergartner to the oldest secondary school student, was dressed in their newest school clothes. The scene was just like in the US and I would think almost everywhere else in the world.

The 1st day of the Djiboutian public schools had been delayed this year because of Ramadan. We were told that they started back to school 21 days later than normal and will make up the days with shorter breaks at Christmas and elsewhere. The French school here has been operating for three weeks already.

As we made our way back to Lac Assal, John and I saw the shutters finally opened on the small rural schools near the outskirts of Djibouti City. But, to my sorrow, as we got closer to the compound and Lac Assal, we saw the many, many children, who have no school to go to, playing in the dirt or herding the goats. We must do something about providing clean, sustainable water here, so that these kids will have a chance at an education! Until there is water here, there will be no school.

THE BANQUES

The Banques is the large salt deposit that has formed around the western edge of Lac Assal,Djibouti. Lac Assal (Lake Assal) is the lowest point in Africa - 550 feet below sea level and is the saltiest lake in the world. It also gets extremely hot here during the summer with temps of over 135 degrees. John and I were here yesterday and it was a cool 101.

Salt Investment is building a large salt production facility at the Banques. The first picture above is of a part of the Banques as it looks naturally. The salt runs up to 40 meters deep and is so hard that heavy Astro trucks and trailers can easily traverse it. The other two pictures show John testing the temperature of the water in one of the crystallizer ponds and that pond itself which was formed by removing the top 35 centimeters of salt and forming a long rectangularly shaped box. This pond rapidly fills up with water from the lake,the wind and sun evaporate the water and salt remains. They took the salt which was removed from the pond area and formed salt roads which surround and allow access to the ponds. John is crouching on the side of one of the salt roads in order to get his sample water temperature.

THE PEOPLE OF RANDA

The people of Randa were as fascinating as the beauty of the countryside. Like in Djibouti everywhere, there are old men with henna stained beards and mustaches. The henna is said to make them more viril. Children are children everywhere, laughing and playing - always welcoming strangers. And, with water always the first priority in Djibouti, there are women with their donkeys carrying water to nearby hamlets.

TRIP TO TADJOURA AND RANDA

For our 41st wedding anniversary John and I took a special trip north of our compound at Lac Assal to Tadjoura, a coastal town. We stayed overnight and then traveled inland, on a mostly 4-wheel drive road to Randa and then beyond up into the mountains on the road to Di Mountain. It was a lovely trip. Driving inland from Tadjoura, we went up the right hand side of a huge wadi (wash). We went up and up until we came to the town of Randa. On the way we say villages with houses made very differently from those around Lac Assal or Djibouti City. These structures were made of wood and other materials. These are called das. These houses were always in a compound with fencing all around. The fencing was usually made of wood and then some thorn bush stems. All of the farm animals in these parts are kept in the enclosures at night because a predatory black panther-like cat lives and hunts in this area.

AFTERMATH OF SHOPPING FOR EID

The evening before the start of EID (the 2 days of celebration after the end of Ramaden)is a shopping frenzy. The downtown marketplace is filled to overflowing with shoppers buying shoes and clothing for the celebration. The next day, the streets are littered with trash - mostly shoe boxes and plastic sleeves which previously held the desired celebratory clothing.

PICTURES OF EID

On Sunday, September 20 we feasted with Souleiman Rirach, our colleague, at his home in Djibouti City.