tanzania at 15 mph: audio slide show of two bicyclists who traversed tanzania from dar to kigoma on a tandem. (nytimes link registration req’d)
the most fascinating article in the national geographic’s special issue on africa is (predictably) “inventing a city: nairobi”, a collaboration between david alan harvey on pictures and binyavanga wainaina on words. harvey’s use of a mixed light set up (strobes/daylight) injects more glamor on his view of my home city than is typical of africa-themed photography. but more interestingly, his images mirror wainaina’s essay on the two sides of nairobi; the one part a global city, the other part, east of moi avenue, an “undocumented sprawl of an evolving african city” (per the magazine article).
i grew up west of moi avenue, metaphorically speaking. that and my numerous years in the west make that other side of moi avenue so alien to me; a fact i find so unsettling as i consider nairobi my home. wainaina offers some insight as to why, on this quote from the magazine article:
“Mlango Kubwa is all motion–streams of people finding original ways to survive and thrive. You never get the impression that there are fixed and rooted institutions (buildings, legal entities) around which people organize. The organization of Mlango Kubwa is hidden in the unhindered to-ing and fro-ing of people feeling their way through the day.”
east of moi avenue, the essence of nairobi is largely invisible; to be experienced in the transactions and relationships that form part of daily life. there is no visible structure that someone like me reared on rules and instituitions can use as a guide. east of moi avenue, a true african city is emerging, coexisting with the other side of nairobi, founded on colonial structure and aspiring to global relevance. a true “nairobian” would be comfortable in both nairobis.
other cool stuff on the nairobi story from the nat geo site:
my nairobi: video interview with wainaina discussing his impressions on how nairobi works, or not. (best chapter: “tearoom”)
streets of kenya: images and narration by david alan harvey on his assignment in nairobi. in the paper article he gives props to his assistant
south africa: ten years on: multimedia (audio/images) piece on life in the south african town of grahamstown 10 years after independence.
other africas an online exhibit of photos, fabrics, posters attempting to highlight a more diverse image of africa. quote: “The objective of this exhibit is to offer images of Other Africas, perspectives that lead us away from the desolate and romanticized Africa of the Western imagination toward those places where African modernities are emerging.”
[via metafilter]
also from metafilter: african dress traditions, postcards of leaders from early 20th century.
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