55 photos.
bamboo and grass hut"Kanazi, Kagera", Tanzania, 2004
This traditional Haya hut is built from bamboo poles and covered with grass. Inside the floor is covered with dry grass. In the back is a fireplace; the insides of the roof are black with soot. The compound is home to Joanitha's grandparents and also includes a cement house with tin roof, and a farm which grows mainly matoke (cooking bananas).
inside Kasubi tombsKampala, Uganda, 2003
Inside the main building are spears, shields, medals, portraits, a canon from Henry Morton Stanley, chairs from Queen Elizabeth I, and a stuffed leopard.
Kasubi tombsKampala, Uganda, 2003
This building holds artifacts of the four previous kings of Buganda.
Rubaga CathedralKampala, Uganda, 2003
I saw this Roman Catholic cathedral every week on my way to and from Uganda Martyrs University because they have a Rubaga campus where the bus departs for Nkozi. It has a large interior and nice pipe organ.
851 Park AvenueSouth Bend, Indiana, 2003
My parents lived in this house from 1970 until 2003 when they retired to Colorado. I spent most of my childhood here, and it is the only place I consider my home.
The University of BukobaBukoba, Tanzania, 2002
From July 2001 until late 2003 the University of Bukoba was housed in the former immigration building on Ghana Road, behind the Regional Offices. The main entrance is on the right. The blue door to the left was the entrance to the computer lab.
front view of Kyanyi campus, University of BukobaBukoba, Tanzania, 2002
A renovated wing of the Kyanyi campus and the university vehicle. Due to a lack of funds, renovations were only partly completed in 2002 before work came to a standstill.
aerial view of Kyanyi campus, University of BukobaBukoba, Tanzania, 2002
View of the Kyanyi campus from behind, showing two renovated buildings and a scenic overlook of Bukoba.
Lake HotelBukoba, Tanzania, 2002
Like many of Bukoba's historic landmarks, the Lake Hotel is in a state of decay.
my house on Arusha StreetBukoba, Tanzania, 2001
I live just a block from the main market, and you can see the spire of the Catholic cathedral in the background. Also note the papaya tree, the tin roof, iron fence and thick vegetation.
Nyumba ya VijanaBukoba, Tanzania, 2001
The University of Bukoba was located at the Nyumba ya Vijana (Bukoba Youth Centre) for two academic years until June 2001.
House 19, Ponhofi SchoolOhangwena, Namibia, 1997
I lived in this house with a Nigerian entomologist. There were plenty of insects for him to study.
House 16, Ponhofi SchoolOhangwena, Namibia, 1997
I stayed in this house in late 1995 with Liam Garvey from Australia.
Red, white and blue tin houseOhangwena, Namibia, 1997
I passed this abandoned shack in the middle of an empty lot whenever going into town. I took this photo the morning I left Ohangwena. Elago Elago writes: As it's painted in DTA colours, I suspect it's an abandoned DTA cardboard type pre-fabricated office. The DTA had quite many of those (and mobile ones) in the 4 northern regions and after losing quite a lot of support, they simply abandoned what they couldn't take along.
Christus KircheWindhoek, Namibia, 1997
This German Lutheran church is a landmark overlooking Windhoek.
TintenpalastWindhoek, Namibia, 1997
This 'ink palace' is the Namibian house of parliament and opened in 1913.
drawbridgeElmina, Ghana, 1997
This is an entrance to the Cape Coast Castle, one of several castles built by the Portuguese around 1500 and used for the slave trade for centuries by various European colonizers. There are several well-preserved slave castles on the coast of Ghana.
dungeon doorElmina, Ghana, 1997
This is the door to a dungeon where hundreds of Africans were chained in small, dark, cave-like cells until they could be packed into boats and sent to the Americas. Those who escaped disease, starvation and fatal beatings and were free of physical weaknesses became slaves in the New World. Those who did not were tossed in the ocean and fed to the sharks. The museum, which was once the church, is a must-see.
mosqueBobo Dioulasso, Burkina Faso, 1996
West Africa has a long history of Islamic influence, especially near the Sahara desert. This mosque is over a hundred years old, yet it is built primarily of mud. It is much smaller than the famous ones in Mali.
blacksmith's chamberBobo Dioulasso, Burkina Faso, 1996
The traditional blacksmith is still needed in the rural areas, though the tools are gradually modernizing.
storage areaBobo Dioulasso, Burkina Faso, 1996
Houses in Burkina Faso are built of mud, stone or straw. This mud village was relatively traditional, and there were many locations for sacrificing animals. To get to this village, I rode on the back of a small motorcycle. I also toured a stone village on a hill and a pond with giant sacred catfish.
child outside a tin houseOniipa, Namibia, 1995
Because of the recent population boom, deforestation has limited the amount of available wood (mostly from omusati/mopane trees) for fencing and housing. As a result, a more Western style of housing has been adopted: rectangular houses made of metal or concrete, with wire mesh for fencing. These houses are hotter and costlier, but they are more permanent, they save wood, and their modernity makes them a status symbol. A volunteer teacher I knew lived in a traditional compound in a hut with walls made of cement interspersed with hundreds of empty dumpies (beer bottles) to act as tiny windows of light. Another volunteer helped to stock a dumpie library with books. Tin buildings are very commonly seen on roadsides, often serving as bottle stores (bars).
fence and shelter inside a traditional homesteadOniipa, Namibia, 1995
A traditional Owambo homestead was a large maze of wooden fences surrounding a group of round wood huts with thatched roofs and sand floors, each of which served a different purpose (bedrooms, grain storage, kitchen, social quarters, etc.) Wealthier farmers now own cars or bakkies (pickup trucks).
my first house, Ponhofi SchoolOhangwena, Namibia, 1995
I shared this house with Adams Kamulegeya, a Ugandan maths teacher I later met by chance in Mutukula in 2003, his Owambo wife Letu, their newborn baby, and some chickens (who had the biggest room). It was a modern concrete house with a metal roof, and electricity and running water (most of the time).
columnsZanzibar, Tanzania, 1995
The influence of the highly advanced Swahili culture has extended up and down the coast of East Africa for several centuries. They traded with people of distant lands, sailing on the Indian Ocean in dhows.
door, Zanzibar TownZanzibar, Tanzania, 1995
Zanzibar town is a picturesque Islamic city with narrow streets, ornately carved doorways, and centuries-old buildings which are being restored. It is becoming a major tourist destination in Africa.
mosque entrance, Zanzibar TownZanzibar, Tanzania, 1995
The Swahili people are Muslims; their language is a mix of Arabic and Bantu languages, and can be written in either Arabic or Western characters. Millions of people from several countries in east and central Africa speak Swahili.
National Museum, Zanzibar TownZanzibar, Tanzania, 1995
The Zanzibar National Museum includes many fascinating items from the Swahili and colonial eras.