Part 7
Antananarivo is a very poor city, probably on a par with many in mainland Africa Which is not surprising since Madagascar is one of the poorest countries in the world. The French controlled the island for about 80 years up until 1960, but their only real legacy appears to be the language. Some buildings have a sudo colonial style to them but the place is generally in a very rundown condition. This was probably as a result of the political unrest in 2002 and 2009 which has seriously affected the local economy to this date. Even tourism is not quite back to the levels the country use to enjoy pre 2002.
On a more positive note the people on the whole are very pleasant but generally shy.
Whilst out walking on Friday we passed many street stalls and markets which the locals tend to use as there are only a few shops and aimed at the higher end market or tourists. The aroma of this humid city is generally not pleasant and apart from the human 'input' there is also the added attraction of fish and meat stalls. Oysters and clams appear popular but Westerners are best advised to avoid them, no matter what letter is in the month! The odour around 'clam corner' as Mrs Smith referred to it, was particularly overpowering in the heat!
With all the warnings about what to avoid eating you would think that one would soon starve however, there are some good local restaurants in town and Chez Sucett's served some really nice duck. Mrs Smith tried the duck with vanilla bourbon sauce whilst Mr Smith had the duck Creole style with olives. The food and service were excellent and we revisited the restaurant the following evening.
The photos below include street scenes an a very Parisian gentleman seen in a pastry shop in the middle of the town.
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