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In Wassu each stone circle consists of about 10 to 24 massive and reddish brown stones.The stones are between 1M and 2.5 M high and must weigh several tons, they told me.Similar structures are found in the Sahara and in Guinee. In Gambia is the largest concentration, about 40 circles between Wassu and Kau-ur.
From Georgetown we made a boattrip of a few hours on our way back to the Atlantic coast. It was nice and easygoing to sit on the boat and to watch from there to the environment.As everywhere in Africa at riversides it's also very lifely at the Gambia River. We saw the local people at the riverbanks while busy with fishhing, boating ,washing ...........
Just near the ferry-boat to Lameng Koto at the north bank is the slave-house. In the past thousands of slaves have waited here for transport to the west. Nowadays it's possible to visit the rather neglected building.Georgetown is named after king Georg III.The oldest known name of Georgetown is JangjangBureh after the two families who founded the town.
In 1996 I could find my way rather easily, anyway along the mainroads. In 2004 I hardly recognised many parts of Serrekunda, maybe due to the direction from where we entered the town this time.It looked like a hodgepodge of streets, alleys lined with tin-roofed buildings and streetstalls with no special grid or rythm. It looked like the town had grown with no logical plan or restrictions.In the central parts of the town we saw many shops, streetstalls selling vegetables, tools, tyres, bread, vegetables, drinks. We saw also all kinds of workshops of welding, car repair, metal work, timber and many more. I could hardly find any landmark except this mosque.
The first time in the Gambia we visited Serrekunda a few times. Before our long journey to the east we made a stop in the centre for shopping, like buying water, bread and fruits. Serrekunda has a very huge and crowded market. Here you can buy almost everything from traditional to modern goods, clothes, musictapes, shoes, tools and spices While the capital Banjul couldn't grow, because it is situated at an island, Serrekunda has grown a lot and became with 275.000 inhabitants the largest town of Gambia.
Wrestling is sport nr 1 in Gambia. It is one of the oldest sporting activities in the Gambia, dating back from before the 13th century.In Serrekunda we visited the large arena, where wrestlers of different villages fighted their match with a lot of supporters and public. All the wrestlers bring their own drumming group for support and to activate the public. Every village or group has its own traditional tune. This drumming and showing of the wrestlers is one of the nicest parts of the match.For more pictures and information have a look at my sport tips.
Allthough it was not the time before Tobaski, there were a lot of goats and sheep at the Abuko market. At the celebration of Tobaski it is a custom, that every family slaughter a ram. The family eats one third theirselves, one third the family y gives to other relatives and one third to the poor people.If you like to see and buy woodcarvings, you have to move on and go 16 KM further to the south east to visit the craftmarket or woodcarvers market of Brikama.
The markets in Gambia are very lifely. Especially Abuko is very known of its livestock market. It is the market for goats and sheep in the western division of the Gambia.The weeks before the celebration of Tobaski, one of the important Muslim days, the Abuko market is one of the main centres in the Gambia for buying your ram. In these period you can see thousands of sheep along the road.When we visited Abuko there were only a few sheep around.
At the west side Banjul is surrounded by mangroves. From the Danton bridge it is possible to make boattrips in this ecological interesting area with a lot of small creeks and mangrove. The boats will also go the the wide Gambia River. If you are lucky you can see dolphins in this river.
Banjul has a mixture of old colonial buildings, modern office buildings and shantytowns. Most of the buildings don't have more than two storeys.There is not only a mixture of architecture in the town, but you see also a mixture of people and cultures from all over the region. You will see women and men dressed in western style, but also in traditional style.Except the different Gambian people, you will see also for example Tuareg and Berber people and some Lebanese shopowners.
Kombo Beach Hotel Banjul
1 Review and 330 Opinions The Kombo Beach is the only hotel we have been to in The Gambia, we stayed here the first time and...
Kairaba Beach Hotel Kololi
2 Reviews and 282 Opinions well such an extraordinarily well run venue in Gambia. German influence, very efficient. What...
Sheraton Gambia Hotel Resort & Spa Serekunda
364 Opinions
Reviews and photos of The Gambia attractions posted by real travelers and locals. The best tips for The Gambia sightseeing.
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Q: Hi, we are going to Gambia on the 22nd Feb and our GP has given us a private prescription for Malarone. It's quite expensive and I...
A: It's not cheap anywhere as it is a relatively new and very effective anti-malarial drug, but is encumbered by patents, so there is only a single manufacturer, hence the...
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