Back at the market

Our Sunday morning habit: the market of Zinder! You'd be surprised at how much tissue you can find! Everytime there is something new; our mission is just to find it... :-)

Sofia and I - a dark picture that has been "rescued" with some Photoshop "shadow/highlight". When taking pictures, you either need a good camera, or a good program! In some cases however, you need both...

One of the many "alleys" at the market...

An old man who approached Sofia and had something to tell her; however, she could not understand hausa and I never heard what his message was...

Another alley!

"You had baby shoes, you said?"

"Second-hand underwear, anybody?"

Oh yes, the resemblance is striking! We just had to take a picture of it...

We went home with a whole bag full of tissue... Now let's just see how long it takes before we're back again!

Ishtar

The Mirriah market

This morning, we drove to Mirriah; a small community situated about 20 km from east of Zinder. The journey took more than half an hour however, because the roads were so deteriorated and the Suzuki (which is not mine...) did not want to end up in every other hole...

Sunday is the market day of Mirriah (every city has its own market day, which enables to the businessmen to go from one market to another the whole week - in Zinder, the market day is on Thursdays) but although it was noon, it was surprisingly empty. People found the weather too cold; we however found it quite windy and some had trouble with all the sand that settled in our eyes...
Anette and Sofia tasted sugar cane for the first time. They said it was nice, but they did not need more than a little piece before being satisfied. Obviously sugar cane is very sweet, but it is also VERY rich in fibers, which is why you can walk around with it for a long time without finishing it off as you have to chew and spit all the time. Good mouth exercise!

Here, Renate and Sofia bought shoes, but I couldn't get the children (that flocked around us) to move away from the camera...

Every market is split into several deparments, and as we were seeing everything, we took a quick tour to the meat market.

The meat however was far from tempting, and I think both Anette and Sofia were happy that Hassane goes directly to the slaughter house to fetch the meat that we eat at home... Remember though that meat is a luxury item which few can afford. Most people in Niger are vegetarians, but not by choice but out of necessity.

Ah, in the end, we ended up finding quite a lot of little hand made things. Mirriah is a nice place to go to if you're looking for items made of stray, brick or calabash.

Clay turned into artwork - what more is there to say...?

Another of Anette's famous people's portraits!

In the end, we made it back to our car, but only because there were more things to discover...

Ishtar

Hunting cloth at the market

We started the day with breakfast, and then head out to the market to see what tissue we would find. Sofia had already aquainted herself with Ringo (the tailor), but the cloth she used was part of my little hamstering collection (a trait I have inherited from my mother!). Because you never know when to find nice tissues at the market, I always buy the ones I like. I might not be using them for a long time, but when the time comes - or for instance, you get a visitor who wants Ringo to make her some African-inspired clothes, they always come in handy...

We did find quite a lot, and both Anette and Sofia appreciated the prices (between €1 and €4 per yard, depending on the quality). It did take some time though as we had to look through all the piles! Anette cannot understand how I can spot anything at all in these piles of tissue, but you just need to concentrate on one little piece at a time. Which was impossible after my concussion in January...

Now, this was probably Anette's last visit to the market during this particular journey (she only has ten days left) but if you ask her, it won't be the last!

Ishtar

Back at the market

Today we were at the market again, where I mostly bought flipflops this time. A lot of fun just watching, though!

Ishtar

The market of Zinder

Today, Elisabeth, Renate, Anette and I went on a girls' outing to the market. The market is one of my favourite places, but that's because I know what I want, where to find it and who will give me the "good" prices... :-) As I've said before, building up a relationship is the key!

Not as crowded as Kano, but crowded enough...

Anette found it hard to focus on a particular tissue amidst these kaleidoscopes of patterns!

... so of us helped her out! And found her some blue bazain (not on the picture!).


Not only did we find nice cloth (and a dozen pair of flipflops), but we have also given Ringo the tailor some work, which we hope will be finished by the end of the week.

Cheers!
Ishtar