Dodoma Pictures

Here are my pictures from my trip to Dodoma, described in much too lengthy paragraph in the preceding post. Sadly missing is a picture of the Ubunge, the Parliament building, which is the only significant piece of the Tanzanian government which has shifted there from Dar-es-Salaam in the nearly four decades since Dodoma was selected as the country’s new capital. This is because Parliament was actually in session, which meant greater security and also higher expectations for attire and generally just too many difficulties. Perhaps we will make it happen when I return there next.

Let’s start with the above trilingual poster from the Dodoma Jesuit Volunteer house, which has hosted European volunteers (mainly German and British, I think) since the late 1980s and now also houses the newest Tanzanian JVC community. This one’s for Mom.

This is the Anglican Cathedral of the Holy Spirit, or something like that, which despite its intriguing architecture is in this post primarily because of the next picture.

Obviously, I could not independently verify the authenticity of this plaque, but it looked old. Sorry for the blurriness. Old school.

As (possibly) mentioned in my earlier posts, Tanzania has a sizeable population of Indian descent, mainly concentrated in the country’s cities and associated with commercial activity. This is Dodoma’s Hindu temple. Moshi has a large Hindu complex including a more ornate temple, which I will show when I eventually make a post (or posts) like this about my own city.While we’re exploring Dodoma’s religious diversity, I can’t forget the city’s most conspicuous religious sanctuary. Believe it or not, the above mosque was a gift from Muammar Gaddafi, the embattled Libyan leader. Perhaps he can live here in exile.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is just a strange-looking roundabout. There is no legitimate reason for posting this picture except that I find mildly interesting, which is really the only criterion used on my blog. The Anglican church with the Livingtonian wood is the background on the right.

Now this fine statue is the centerpiece of Nyerere Square. As you might have guessed, it is in fact a statue of Julius K. Nyerere, more commonly known as “Baba wa Taifa” (“Father of the Nation”) or simply “Mwalimu” (“Teacher”). He was the nation’s first and longtime leader and still greatly admired by many Tanzanians.

This is Simba Mlima, a “mountain” or rock formation which overlooks Dodoma. Sean and I climbed it together with David, a fellow teacher and friend of Sean’s from Uganda, and Jude, a Ugandan friend of David studying to become a Carmelite priest.

A view from the summit of much of Dodoma, which has a population somewhere around 400,000. The white clusters of buildings on the hills in the background are units of the University of Dodoma (UDOM), which supposedly will soon be the largest university in sub-Saharan Africa.

Yes, a rare sight on these pages, an actual picture of me with Sean (in the middle) and David. Jude took the picture. I don’t think I recruited anyone to Marquette despite proudly wearing my shirt.

The new official residence for the prime minister being built on a lower portion of the rock.

And the sun sets over Dodoma, my mid-year break, and the first half of 2011.

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