November 2011

• November 28, 2011 – 8:23 pm

  Quick update – new adventure

  Next seven days I’ll be exploring the Afar Triangle, a geological depression in Ethiopia (Eritrea and Djibouti) that is caused by the Afar Triple Junction which is part of the Great Rift Valley. More info. Let’s hope the angels are with us!

  

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  • onder: Danakil Afar Triangle Depression Ethiopia Simien mountains
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• November 22, 2011 – 7:39 pm

  Pictures of the Week – the ports of Djenné

  

  The ports of Djenné (of which there are 17), particularly the one at Bambana, where pirogues from Timbuktu would tie up.

  

  More ports, Djenné and Mali pics on FrankFocus’ Photostream.

  

  Info (in Dutch) on our new project in Madagascar can be obtained here.

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  • onder: adobe, Bani, Djenne, Mali, mud, Niger, port, ports, river
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• November 15, 2011 – 6:57 pm

  Pictures of the Week – Dogon Portraits

  

  The Dogon are an ethnic group living in the central plateau region of Mali, south of the Niger bend near the city of Bandiagara in the Mopti region.

  

  The Dogon are best known for their religious traditions, their mask dances, wooden sculpture and their architecture.

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  • onder: B&W, black and white, Dogon, frankfocus, Mali, portraits
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• November 7, 2011 – 9:21 pm

  Djenné – a mud filled town in B&W

  Djenné is an Urban Commune and town in the Inland Niger Delta region of central Mali.

  

  The history of Djenné is closely linked with that of Timbuktu. Between the 15th and 17th centuries much of the trans-Saharan trade in goods such as salt, gold and slaves that moved in and out of Timbuktu passed through Djenné. Both towns became centres of Islamic scholarship.

  

  The entire community of Djenné takes an active role in the Great Mosque’s maintenance via a unique annual festival. This includes music and food, but has the primary objective of repairing the damage inflicted on the mosque in the past year (mostly erosion caused by the annual rains and cracks caused by changes in temperature and humidity). In the days leading up to the festival, the plaster is prepared in pits. It requires several days to cure but needs to be periodically stirred, a task usually falling to young boys who play in the mixture, thus stirring up the contents. Men climb onto the mosque’s built-in scaffolding and ladders made of palm wood and smear the plaster over the face of the mosque.

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  • onder: adobe, B&W, Bani, Djenne, Flickr, frankfocus, Mali, mosque, mud bricks, Niger
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• November 1, 2011 – 11:09 pm

  Pictures of the Week – The Selous

  

  More info in Dutch here.

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  • onder: Tanzania photography Selous Game Reserve FrankFocus
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