Serrekunda Daily Photo

Market Women

2009-11-16T16:08:00.000-08:00

Here is another photo of some of the market women showing some of the many things that they sell. This is in Serrekunda Market.

Ocean Bay Hotel & Resort

2009-11-15T00:01:00.000-08:00

This is Ocean Bay Hotel & Resort, an international first class hotel of 5 star rating. This hotel is located Bakau Cape Point very close to the beach.

Fishing Boats

2009-11-14T00:01:00.000-08:00

Some of the large fishing boats on the beach.

Cape Point Beach

2009-11-13T11:02:00.001-08:00

A picture of Cape Point Beach. These kinds of trees are found along the beach side where people can take rest when the the sun is shining hot. Behind the palms is a flame tree and behind that you can see the fat trunk of a small baobab tree.

Bakau Craft Market

2009-11-12T00:01:00.000-08:00

This is the main Bakau craft market. This craft market is where craftsmen make their woodwork so is it easy to find what people want to buy. This art work is located in the main junction.

Art Work

2009-11-11T22:48:00.000-08:00

What a beautiful art and craft work designed on a white piece of cloth. This work is mainly done by the craft men at the craft market.

Bakau Market

2009-11-10T22:34:00.000-08:00

Bakau market is also a market well known for selling vegetables of this kind. This is just located on the main highway of Bakau where you can get a easy access to get to the market for shopping.

Kachikally Tourist Shop

2009-11-09T20:07:00.000-08:00

This is a full view of one of the shops at the crocodile pool. It has very nice and beautiful item for sale. In this place, you are free to walk around and have a look at the different items in the shops.

Kachikally Crocodiles

2009-11-08T21:43:00.000-08:00

A picture of the some of the crocodiles found in this pool. Some of these crocodiles are some times found outside of the pool. They do spend some time laying and resting at this time, visitors are free to touch and take pictures.

Kachikally Crocodile Pool Market

2009-11-07T07:14:00.000-08:00

This tourist market is a small market located inside the Sacred Bakau Kachikally Crocodile Pool grounds. It is a very popular market since many tourists and other people do come here for shopping. In this craft market many other items are available but the ones in this picture are drums and Tie and Die. There is a small crocodile hiding in the back there to give some treatment to people who don't buy anything. Tomorrow I will show you some of the big crocodiles.

Bakau Beach

2009-11-06T00:01:00.000-08:00

This is Bakau Beach where many fishermen bring their boats in after they have been fishing all night out on the ocean.

Busy

2009-11-05T08:55:00.000-08:00

This place is really a busy place where many Gambians and people from other places like Senegal, Mauritania, and Guinea Bissau come for daily business.

Selling Bunga Fish

2009-11-04T21:58:00.000-08:00

This is a market woman selling bunga fish at Serrekunda market. This kind of fish is the most common fish sold by market women since they are not really expensive and easy to prepare.

Musicians

2009-11-03T11:22:00.001-08:00

These are statues of traditional musicians here. Any time there is a wedding, a christening or other big celebration musicians like these will be called to come and play. These are located just to one side of Arch 22 at the entrance to Banujul.

Donkeys

2009-11-01T11:19:00.000-08:00

Donkeys and other animals are usually found in this kind of empty land where they come for grass during the dry season. Although the land is dry I think these animals are still able to find something to eat.

Wood Carvings

2009-10-31T08:00:00.000-07:00

Serrekunda market also has a special market for tourists. These items you are seeing are locally made by wood carvers and brought to the market here for sale. There are very nice and interesting items are sold here.

Tie Dye

2009-10-30T09:22:00.001-07:00

These are locally made Gambian Tie and Dye clothes that are sold in the tourist market. There are many different dresses available in many colors and patterns.

Bank PHB

2009-10-28T12:44:00.000-07:00

This is the Bank PHB building. Formerly known as IBC Limited, the bank launched its new brand identity on August 25, 2008 following the 100 percent acquisition of IBC by the Management of Bank PHB (PlatinumHabib Bank (Plc) Nigeria). For more information,you may click on this link: http://www.bankphb.com/gambia

Denton Bridge

2009-10-27T11:26:00.000-07:00

Denton Bridge is the only bridge between Banjul and Serrekunda so it has a police check point to provide tight security. It crosses over Denton Creek which is really just an offshoot of the Gambia River. People do surf fishing from the nearby beach and it is also safe for swimming. This photo shows the old bridge which is no longer used except by fishermen and, to the right, the newer bridge.

Sandikarr

2009-10-26T13:20:00.000-07:00

This place is called Sandikarr. It is a place where farmers bring their crops to sell. Different kinds of crops and fruits are sold here. As you can see in the picture, men with wheelbarrows are also selling different kind of things. People come here to do a lot of business.

Banjul to Barra Ferry

2009-10-25T11:48:00.001-07:00

This is the Banjul to Barra Ferry which crosses the Gambia River near where reaches the ocean. The cost for a one way journey is D5 for individual passengers and D150 for cars. As you can see this is a very busy place. The ferry operates from 7am to late evening.

Taxis

2009-10-24T12:09:00.001-07:00

Here you see a lot of taxis on the streets because most people do not have their own car. Taxis travel regular routes and you can get on or off anywhere by flagging them down. If you want to have a taxi all to yourself and go to a special address you can hire one but it will cost you more. As you can see, all taxis in The Gambia have to be painted yellow and green.

Arch 22

2009-10-23T07:09:00.001-07:00

This is called Arch 22. It stands over the highway at the entrance to Banjul.

On July 22, 1994 Banjul was the scene of a bloodless military coup d'état in which President Dawda Jawara was overthrown and replaced by the country's current President Yahya Jammeh. To commemorate this event, Arch 22 was built as an entrance portal to the capital. The gate is 35 metres tall and the centre of an open square. It houses a textile museum. (From Wikipedia)

Latrikunda Market 2

2009-10-22T00:01:00.000-07:00

This is a different side in Latrikunda Market. In this entrance, there are rows of tables owned by market women who sell different things like second hand shoes, bags, necklaces, etc. Here you see women going in to the market for shopping with their baskets.

Street Dogs

2009-10-21T00:01:00.000-07:00

I was just walking down the street and I came across these three dogs and it reminded me about a dog that we used to have named Gimpy. These dogs are street dogs that are usually seen all over the street. Some are harmful and some aren't but with a stone they are all gone.

Basse Garage

2009-10-20T08:03:00.001-07:00

This is called Basse Garage because here you can only get cars going to Basse. Basse is part of the Gambia but is located far from the capital, Banjul, about 320 kms distant. Wheelbarrows with different kinds of items for sale are usually found in this kind of place as well.

Cows

2009-10-19T11:13:00.000-07:00

Cows of this kind are only for feeding and sometimes for producing milk. Some male cows are frequently used for farming. In this time, it is very hot and dry so they are sometimes left roaming in already harvested farms to eat the leftover hay.

Latrikunda Market

2009-10-18T10:18:00.000-07:00

This is at the entrance to Latrikunda Market. Market women are preparing to pack together their tables and get things in place before customers start coming. It is always busy and crowded in the morning since it is a place where many people come to earn their living. Tables, frying pans and chairs are all over the place but will be arranged by the women early in the morning.

Food Sellers

2009-10-17T00:01:00.000-07:00

This was also taken very close to the Banjul Ferry terminal. It is a place where people meet to have breakfast. As you can see, here are Gambian women with their coffee table selling different kinds of food. What they mostly sell in the morning is coffee, tea, bread and omelets, fried eggs and meat, etc. For all this they have their different prices. For example, a cup of coffee is D6.00. In the afternoon, there are different kinds of food like rice brought to this place.

Breakfast

2009-10-16T16:01:00.000-07:00

For me, this is my favorite moment sitting with my friends eating breakfast. We sit together under a mango tree and have breakfast together. Bread and beans and a bottle of cold juice called "WONJOO" is what I enjoy eating in the morning. On the right side is my friend - his name is Lamin Jammeh, who lives in the same compound.

Donkeys and Mangoes

2009-10-15T07:31:00.001-07:00

As always during the dry season, animals are free to move since there are no crops to destroy. At this time there is less hay for these animals to feed on. This is why they are free to feed on mangoes and other fruit available to them.

Market Woman

2009-10-14T10:13:00.000-07:00

Gambian women are very much involved in daily business. Most of these Gambian women are involved in business like selling vegetables or fish, etc. but most sell fish like Bunga, Kong, Butter Fish and Lady Fish. They buy these from fishermen and bring them to the market for customers.

Banjul Ferry Terminal

2009-10-13T00:01:00.000-07:00

Banjul Ferry terminal is a very busy and crowded place where different people meet for work. The ferry crosses the River Gambia from Banjul to Barra. Specially those that work or have boats that also cross to Barra meet under these coconut trees for rest. Along the side of the beach, there are many coconut trees that provide shade for people that wish to come to the beach for relaxing and swimming.

Along Bone Road

2009-10-12T00:01:00.000-07:00

This is along Bone Road which is also an entrance to the capital city Banjul. Along the sea bank, there are many boats which are locally made by carpenters. These boats are locally known as gals in Wolof language. These gals are commonly used by nakapats (fishermen) for fishing. In the Gambia,the tribe well known for fishing are the Serer.They use these gals to go out to the sea for fishing.

Albert Market

2009-10-11T11:24:00.000-07:00

Down the road on the right just past the red building is the Albert Market, the main market in Banjul. Banjul is the capital of The Gambia and is about 10 kilometers north of Serrekunda.

Horse

2009-10-10T10:33:00.000-07:00

On my way coming from Brikama, I came across this horse under the tree resting and chewing hay. These horses are sometimes used for transporting goods like palm trees for roofing from one place to another. They are not so common now since we have many cars moving from everywhere but they are very useful because they are cheaper.

Street Vendors

2009-10-09T10:44:00.001-07:00

Around here any busy street is going to be lined with street vendors. You can buy almost anything on the street. This is outside Albert Market in Banjul.

Serrekunda Market

2009-10-08T08:24:00.001-07:00

Above is the Serrekunda main market from the outside. It is always very busy in the street as you can see in the photo below.

Serrekunda

2009-10-07T11:31:00.001-07:00

This is a busy street in downtown Serrekunda.

Food Preparation

2009-10-06T11:17:00.000-07:00

We're at the end of rainy season now so there won't be any more rain now until next June except maybe once or twice in the next few weeks. That means that most food preparation and cooking can be done outdoors, where it mostly takes place anyway.

House

2009-10-05T08:58:00.001-07:00

This is my family's house. As you can see it is made from local building materials. The walls are mud brick and the roof is from palm leaves. It leaks a little in rainy season so it has that blue plastic on top.

Small Boys

2009-10-04T07:46:00.001-07:00

Well, it's very hard to get these small boys to be serious. Like I said earlier, there are usually lots of kids in any compound in this place.

Compound Work

2009-10-03T09:12:00.000-07:00

Everybody's always interested in preparing food and here are some of the people in the compound fixing some beans to eat with supper.

Compound Kids

2009-10-02T08:36:00.000-07:00

One thing you find in most Gambian compounds is lots of kids. Here's just some of the kids in my family compound. Their names are Demba, Jainaba, Jabou, Jabou, Musa, Issaka and Abdoulie.

Compound

2009-10-01T06:39:00.000-07:00

In the Gambia we always like to greet someone before we start talking about anything else. So, Salaam Aleikum! I hope you are well.

While this blog is called Serrekunda Daily Photo, this first photo is not in Serrekunda. It is in Brikama. It is a village close to Serrekunda. I went there to visit my family and this is their compound.

The young girl is my younger sister's daughter. Her name is Jabou.