Safari Notes

Africa's second most populous city has grown explosively, from 300,000 in 1950 to an expected 18 million by 2010, when it will be ranked as one of the world's ten largest cities. This happened so quickly that the city had no effective institutions, engineering, planning, or traditions to guide the hypergrowth. Nigeria's booming oil industry fueled it, and it will likely only accelerate, taking Lagos along and drawing even more immigrants from rural areas, as well as from neighboring countries. Overcrowding (averaging six people per room), poor sanitation, air and water pollution, clogged sewers, solid-waste contamination, and staggering traffic fester even as efforts are being made to improve the national and city infrastructures in a time of political turmoil. Residents survive all those conditions and have kept the food supply moving through the efforts of individual vendors who sell their wares in vast outdoor markets. National Geographic More on Lagos: City-Data , Daily...

If you had been to Mauritius' capital several years ago, you might not recognise it today. Back then, Port Louis didn't offer very much for the visitor to do or see. But Port Louis has had a face lift, and these days there's plenty to keep you busy. The new Caudan Waterfront is considered by many to be the main tourist attraction in Port Louis. With trendy shops, cinemas, restaurants and a casino, it has become the hub of the city. However, there are other places of interest for people who want to explore the city's jumble of crumbling old edifices and shiny new buildings a little further. >>>>> read more: GoAfrica More on Port Louis: Google Map , Tropiscope , Time and Date , Yahoo Travel , World66 , Knol , Wikipedia , Travel Mauritius , Infoplease , Encyclopedia , African Trips , BBC Weather , MPA , Municipal , mysterra , Topix , News

Gaborone, the capital of Botswana, is often cited as the world's fastest growing city. Named after Kgosi Gaborone - a leader who arrived with his people in this area at the end of the 18th century, Gaborone is a bustling, modern city and the seat of power for one of Africa's most successful economies. Gabs, as it is affectionately known, lies off Botswana's safari circuit - it's in the more populous and better-watered southwest - and is usually seen as a stopover for self-drives on their way to the Okavango Delta or Chobe National Park . The city has many busy shopping malls, top hotels and interesting markets. Restaurants are numerous and varied, and night clubs often host live music by local artists. The National Museum is situated near the centre of town and houses important collections of traditional crafts and southern African fine art. goAfrica More on Gaborone: Discover Botswana , botswanatourism.co , Wikipedia , Places.co , World Travels , World66 , gaborone.in...

A historian of urbanism once described cities as cultural complexes that seem to have sprung up on the banks of a few great rivers. The nucleus of such settlements, he added, must have appeared long before the city had come to full maturity. Khartoum seems to conform to this principle, for at a much earlier date before its development into a large urban conglomerate in modern times, a Mesolithic (i.e. Middle Stone Age) flourished on the left bank of the Blue Nile. From the same location, Meroitic pottery dating between the first century BC and the second century AD was recovered. The confluence of the Blue and White Niles, which is the main element of the topography of the City, must have dictated the choice of Khartoum as the seat of government during the early years of the Turco-Egyptian regime (1821-1885). This period witnessed a gradual expansion of the town in the modern times. Accounts of European travelers who visited the Sudan in the mid-19th century indicate that the town had ...

Whenever travelers say that they are going to Curitiba, people always advise them to take warm clothes. This is one of the features that you can be sure about in the city, for low temperatures have already become part of the lives of the curitibanos (residents of Curitiba). However, this is not the only piece of advice that may be given to the traveler bound for Curitiba. He could be told that, along with the warm clothes, he should arrive in Curitiba with his eyes wide open to see the sights of an urban scenario where its dwellers, its environment and its urban area coexist in a harmonious, organized form. Due to this harmonious co-existence, the functioning of the city itself has become a tourist attraction. Aligning this factor to the fact that the city has an infrastructure implemented specifically for receiving tourists, Curitiba is a city that is ready to welcome tourists and can truly say: make yourselves at home.>>>> Read more from the : Official Site More on Curiti...

Capital of Egypt, largest city in the Middle East and in Africa, Cairo knew settlements as long ago as 6,000 years. The roots of the modern city, however, date from A.D. 969, when Muslim invaders from Tunisia secured and enlarged the site. Major growth came in the 19th century with the opening of the Suez Canal, extending Cairo's dominant status as a hub of trade with Europe, Asia, and Africa. Although Cairo translates as "the victorious," Cairenes call it Misr, meaning "Egypt." Agriculture is the country's economic mainstay. Revenue flows from mining, industry, trade, finance, and tourism, which, despite concerns over political unrest, has substantially rebounded. In recent decades Cairo has seen extreme growth, and housing can be scarce. More than 350,000 people are born there yearly, and nearly 50 percent of the population is 19 years old or younger. But Cairo remains a great city for its size, traditions, learning, and culture. >>>>Read more:...

Located in the northern highlands of Tanzania, beneath the twin peaks of Mt. Meru and Mount Kilimanjaro, Arusha is the safari capital of the country. Guests embarking on the popular northern safari circuit all stop in the ‘Geneva of Africa’ to prepare for their journeys into the African bush. From is two-lane streets, the dramatic crater of Mt. Meru stands over the town like a majestic sentinel, it’s crater strewn with thick clouds, it’s slopes dark with verdant forest. Arusha’s ideal location near the major national parks and it’s highland setting make it a peaceful idyll of relaxation before the start of an exciting journey. Built by the Germans as a centre of colonial administration administration in the early 20th century, Arusha was a sleepy town with a garrison stationed at the old boma and a few shops around a grassy roundabout. From its backwater status amidst the farmlands and plantations of northern Tanzania, today Arusha is one of the country’s most prosperous towns. The sit...

"The history of Kampala, like that of many other cities in the world, derives from both folklore and historical fact. According to folklore, much of the area where present-day Kampala stands was dominated by wetlands and rolling hills. This made it an ideal habitat for the Impala and other members of the antelope family. They grazed on the slopes of the hills and came down to the wetlands for water. The palace of the Kabaka (king) of Buganda, located on one of the hills, overlooked this landscape rich in Impala. He turned it into his hunting grounds. Folklore merged with history when the British Empire builders arrived at the end of the 19th century. "Impala" was the English name for that particular antelope family. So the British referred to the area as the "hill of the Impala". The Baganda, eager to adopt foreign words into the local language, translated "hill of the Impala" into Luganda as "kasozi k'Impala" (pronounced "ka Impala...