BUZZOYO November 2019

COVER STORY
BUZZOYO NOV 2019
ANTANANAVIRO
Antananarivo the tonguetwisting
capital of Madagascar.
Overlooking the city, the
Rova of Antananarivo Palace
complex was the centre of the
Merina kingdom from the 17th
century. It features wooden
houses and royal tombs. The
pink baroque Andafiavaratra
Palace sits in the nearby Haute
Ville neighbourhood. In the city
center, the heart-shaped Lake
Anosy is ringed by jacaranda
trees.
With its lakes, canals, and
jagged hills, its necklace of
emerald rice paddies, its
crumpled central lattice of
still partly cobbled streets
and red-tiled pastel-coloured
balconied houses, this is a
city that imprints its character
immediately on every first-time
visitor.
TOAMASINA
Toamasina (commonly known
as Tamatave) is Madagascar’s
second city and with the
presence of the main regional
seaport, it has a growing
potential for economic
activities. It is the country’s
largest port and therefore the
country’s commercial hub,
handling much of the island’s
foreign trade.
Tamatave is a hot, dusty, and
chaotic town full of decaying
colonial buildings, roadside
markets and throngs of
pousse-pousse carts. The
emphasis is on commerce not
tourism, apart from being an
important transit point.
There is a nice beach along
Bd Ratsimilaho, especially
between Pointe Asti and
Pointe Tanio from where you
can have a great view of the
district. But bathing is strictly
forbidden, because of sharks!
For swimming, you will need to
go further north, where sharks
cannot enter the beautiful
lagoon surrounded by
coral reefs.
Antananarivo, Madagascar
PLACES TO VISIT
Rova Palace
Musee Andafivaratra
Analakely Market
Musee de L’Art et de Archeologie
Musée de la Foto
Parc De Lémuriens à Madagascar
La City Centre Commercial
Andravoahangy market
Ambohimanga
Lemurs’ Park
Croc Farm (Crocodile Farm)
The Law Court of Ambatondrafandrana
The Anglican Cathedral
Parc de Tsarasaotra for bird watching
La Digue Market
Is’Art Galerie - sneak peak into contemporary creativity
The Albert Camus Cultural Center
Lisy Art Gallery
OTHER PLACES TO VISIT:
Bazary be: Tamatave’s colourful Bazary Be sells fruit,
vegetables, spices, handicrafts and beautiful bouquets of
flowers
Place Bien Aimé: Here you can find the remains of a once
grand park; a dozen magnificent banyan trees weep before a
crumbling colonial mansion.
Place de Colonne: A monument to those killed in the 1947
uprising against the French, this plaza is in a sad state of
disrepair.
Catholic Church: a landmark church in Tamatave.
Musée du Port: The small university museum at the
entrance to the port constitutes barely 2.5 rooms of farming
tools, fishing implements, archaeological finds and tribal
charms, along with poster displays on deforestation and
local conservation projects.
Bazary Kely: Market for fish and produce.
Traditional rickshaws (pousse-pousse) in
Toamasina (Tamatave), East of Madagascar
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