Senegal

Back in Africa, the 157th country on our journey around the world brings us to Senegal. It's where Chidi from the show 'The Good Place' grew up. Are you watching The Good Place? You should, we love it! Also, my family may or may not compare me to Chidi and his stomach aches for having to make decisions. 

Senegal, like many west African country's plays homage to 

Senegal was colonized by the French, but became independent in 1960. A statue in Dakar, the capital city, was unveiled on the 50th anniversary of their independence. It is called The African Renaissance Monument,and  is taller than the statue of liberty. It is Africa's largest statue. It caused some controversy when it was erected, simply because of the cost. 

Senegal is a deep devout country. Ninety-four percent of the country practices Islam. 

So it's not really a surprise our landmark is The Grand Mosque of Touba. The mosque is a most holy place for the  Mouride (a branch of Islam) practiced mostly in Senegal and Gambia. 

Touba is the site for one of Africa's largest pilgrimages. 48 days after the Islamic New Year (the new year for 2018 begins on September 11th), two million people will descend on town for the Grand Magal pilgrimage. 

The mosque itself was completed in 1963, and had has three domes and five minarets (Does the average person know what a minaret is? I know, but that might be because our talk of minarets goes way back to the Minaret of Jam- anyway, it is a tall slender tower, usually part of a mosque with a balcony where Muslims are called to prayer). The central minaret is called Lamp Fall, and is one of Senegal's most famous monuments. 

The Grand Mosque of Touba is where the Amadou Bamba (the founder of the Mouride brotherhood) is buried. 

It is the largest building in the city, and one of the largest mosques in Africa with a capacity of 7,000 people. 

Senegal is a fusion of French and African cultures. The major tribe of Senegal is the Wolof tribe. They account for 6 million of the 14 million Senegalese. But, there are plenty of other tribes each with their own customs and traditions, including the Mandinka people. 

The terrain is as diverse as the people. From the coastal beaches, mangrove forests, savannah woodlands, to the dusty interior. They even have a pink lake, caused by algae in the water. The official name is Lake Retba, but it is known as Pink Lake. It has 40 percent more salt than normal saltwater lakes. 

If you're looking for wildlife, you can take a 3 hour mini safari in your own car at the Fathala Reserve. Although, to drive you're own car in Senegal you will need an international driving permit. You could always  hire an off-road car to see giraffes, rhinos, elands, antelopess and many birds. 

Lots and lots of birds, in fact. You'll see millions migratory birds in Senegal. 

The boys made their Senegal postcards. 

Calib's featured the African Renaissance Monument. 

Peyton's featured the Grand Mosque of Touba, and the Pink Lake. 

And Hayden's featured the mosque and a migratory bird. 

We've had enough chicken and rice to last a lifetime while we've made our way through west Africa, so this time we went with less traditional food, and more street food. First off, those are spring rolls, or nems in French. There's lots of spring roll venders on the streets of Senegal, and it's sort of interesting story.  You can click on the link, but long story short- French recruited soldiers from Senegal during the Indochina War, basically taking men from one colony to help another. The result? Lots of men fell in love with women in Vietnam. The women eventually came back with their husbands to Senegal, and brought along their cooking skills with them. That was in the 1940's, and people don't remember it- but the cuisine is now eaten as a beach snack, and served at special events. 

Pork came too, so it wasn't too far off that we used Pork for our meat in Afra or Dibi (a west african street food), basically a mustard and onion marinated meat (of your choice- we went with pork because we had a ton in the freezer when we got it super cheap at Costco the weekend after Thanksgiving).  You serve it along side some of that french grainy mustard and baguettes. 

This earned five spoons up. 

I served it on paper just like it would be served on in Senegal, which the boys thought was fun. But, the pork was tender with a unique flavor but not overwhelmingly mustard. 

Now if you want something a little less meat focused, you can go with Slatu Niebe (a black-eyed bean salad), or Chakery (a west African dessert) . We considered both of those, but Asa has caught my cold and so we were trying to make things as easy as possible. 

Also worth noting, I don't often talk about it- but during dinner we try and listen to the music of the country we're on. Senegal has a supposed 'world-famous' musical style (though admittedly, I had never heard of it before), called Mbalax. It's kind of a mix of jazz and soul, along with the African sounds of a sabar drum. 

We colored Senegal in a light teal color, right on the Atlantic coast of Africa, south of yellow Mauritania, east of orange Mali and north of light brown Guinea-Bissau. We did have to re-color in our blue line for Gambia, since it is enveloped by Senegal. 

That is 157 down, ONLY THIRTY-NINE to go! 

Next Up: Malawi