Hello! We are a mixed family, crossed between Italy and Senegal: Adult Mother, Adult Father, Big Baby, and Little Baby, complete.
We like to travel, we did it before we had children and even now, certainly in a different way.
For obvious reasons we often go to Senegal.
During Ramadan, we arrive in Touba, about 200 km from Dakar, the capital. Touba is the holy city of the Murid, the Islamic brotherhood of Adult Father.
The Murid is also called the Sufis of West Africa, the mystics, for their pure and uncontaminated beliefs and for their rhythmic and circular sacred dances that can induce the followers to a state of trance.
Touba has 4 million inhabitants at the beginning of the Sahel desert, a temperature between 35 and 40 degrees in the shade, almost never has running water and boasts a population of flies ratio of 10 to 1 per inhabitant, or 10 flies for a human being.
Not to mention mosquitoes, which are however much less than flies.
As guests of the Great Grandmother, Mother of the Adult Father, the Family goes to visit the house of the Marabut, one of the many who live in Touba.
The house is a really small village, made up of a few 2-story buildings where the different wives and family members live.
In the middle, several courtyards of beaten earth where during Ramadam the pilgrims and followers gather to spend the days between songs and great food. Chez Le Marabout eats well, so to speak.
Towards sunset we organize every day two coaches crammed with people up on the roof that organize a special delivery for the dinner of the Great Marabut, the most important, fasting for the Holy Month, following the delivery on board a large off-road car trumpeted at nightfall, in a sky decorated with clouds of watercolor, up is down the dusty streets and with lights that will be difficult to forget ...
6 reasons to go to Senegal
1. It is one of the quietest countries in Africa politically, with a low crime rate compared to African stancars.
2. It has a smiling and welcoming population, ready to open its houses to foreigners (enough to talk about the terranga = Senegalese hospitality, almost their "watchword" to guests. Pass by to greet them and stay there to eat, the step is short!
3. The art is very interesting. In Dakar every two years there is the Biennale, famous throughout West Africa, which brings together artists from all over the continent. Not to mention percussion, every year artists gather to learn or improve with percussion instruments.
4. The climate is mild all year round. Summer coincides with the rainy season, but it is rather bearable and falls mainly along the coasts. In winter the daytime temperature is about 25 degrees.
5. The cuisine is varied and appetizing (and not too spicy!). Typical dishes are Cheboudiene, rice with fish and vegetables, or rice with meat like stew and peanut sauce. The fruit is tropical, everywhere you can find mangoes, pineapples if in season and watermelons. The main crop is peanut and millet.
6. Air travel is quite cheap, a ticket in low season costs between 400 and 550 euros each.
Traveling to Senegal during Ramadan
It is often difficult to get food because even restaurants are closed until sunset, especially outside the large towns. It is not recommended to drink drinks in public in front of the observers.
It is a good habit when you go as a guest in the houses of people who watch the Ramadam bring sugar to give as a gift. At sunset, before dinner, it is used to drink Touba coffee (spicy coffee with cardamom) with lots of sugar and dates and bring sugar is a gesture well appreciated.