Archive 2008 - 2019

Aksilem ak Jamm- Welcome to West Africa! (part 4)

by Julia Lingham
7/31/2009

Sandaga's Fish Markets.

Today I wander through the Sandaga market with El Hadji and he shows me all the famous ingredients used in African cooking, such as mint leaves, lentils, haricots and lots of spices. They even chew on sticks here to cure maladies. There is one man selling natural remedies such as baobab fruit, known as monkey's bread or bouye (pronounced BW-ee) in Wolof, that cures la rhume des fesses, otherwise known as diarrhea. I've tried it and it works!


They chew on sticks to cure stomach and headaches, and parasites feeding off your intestines. Yummy!

I will NEVER forget the smell of a fish market in steaming Dakar, and seeing chopped fish heads, fish eyeballs and raw meat strewn across an acre wide of rotting market. We meander through the endless aisles of merchants selling the day's fresh catch of fish. I am nearly gagging from the overpowering stench of rotting fish, that is, until we come across the vegetables section, right next to the fish market. How hygienic!

Afterwards we go to the literal armpit of the earth, where everything from the soil-stained streets strewn with car parts to the burly mechanics are covered in oil and grease.  Welcome to the world’s black market for stolen car parts. This is where autos are re-assembled, disassembled and rambled.


El Hadji's friend finds us a dinky little motor scooter that gets us around the city much faster than a car rapide. We whiz between two big TATA busses and avoid head-on collisions while weaving in and out of Dakar's worst traffic. I take a tour of the city and see everything from La Porte de Millénia to Kermel Market.