Dakar (1): Official Dakar

Our group arrived in Dakar in September. I remember getting off the plane and being smacked in the face by the intense heat and the overwhelming smell of mangoes. To this day, I can smell a mango a mile away and much like Proust's famous madeleines, just the fragrance of a mango brings back a rush of memories. When we landed in Senegal, we began our stay with a brief stage in Dakar, the capital city. The Place de la République is the heart of the city with many apartment and office buildings overlooking the only green grass I ever saw in Senegal.

While in Dakar, we naturally went to see the Palais du Président. Located right on the ocean, the palace was but one of the many vestiges of colonialism in Dakar. Its grandeur was vaguely reminiscent of the White House, but strangely out of place even in the capital city. In 1967, its most important inhabitant was "le président de la République," Léopold Sédor Senghor, the first president of Senegal.

The palace guards stood watch over the official presidential residence day and night. When the guards were wearing red, Senghor was home. When they were wearing blue, he was out of town. I think it was a tad unfriendly of him not to invite us in for a visit with him that day, since obviously he was "in"!!

Not far from the palace was the Assemblée Nationale, the unicameral legislative body of France.

Since the administration of Senegal was much like the administration of France, of course there was a "Mairie" (City Hall) in Dakar.

Senegal is a Moslem country, so naturally the mosque figures prominently in the skyscape of Dakar. The main mosque in Dakar was located right across the street from the Peace Corps office. On Friday afternoons, we all avoided going anywhere near the office because prayers were broadcast at top volume all day long from the mosque. During a visit to Touba, I was able to visit the mosque there, one of the most beautiful in Senegal.

Shopping in Dakar was always an adventure. There was one department store in the capital, and, as I recall, it vaguely resembled K-Mart. Still, when you need toothpaste, you need toothpaste and K-Mart will certainly do.