Niger's president visits the camel camp

Today, we went to the camel camp behind the race track with Aïssa. Her family had come from Tanout bringing their camels with them, and we were heading out for a ride...

We were not the only ones to visit the camp, because on our way there, we were passed by some "very important vehicules". It turned out that the president, Mahamadou Tandja, was there as well!

Needless to say, it was a very pleasant surprise because people had put on such a display!

Now, the riders (of both camels and horses) had a show, and you'd be surprised at the cultural variety there is in Niger! These were Kanouri warriors from the Mainasoura area... (within the Zinder department). Sorry I couldn't capture the music as well...

Now, there were loads of camels as well, all aligned in groups depending on what area they had come from. Every part of Niger was represented, and there were many camels with tuareg and fulani riders!

The president was very pleased, and so were we as we got to see all the highlights of Nigerien culture!

I also made some new friends; the first one is a radio reporter and the second one was a vet working for the Ministry in Niamey.

Once the president had left, things calmed down and Aïssa's family found us amongst the crowd... Now, we did ride the camels, but that will be displayed in another entry!

Ishtar