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the Black Angel of Madagascar
I love the reality TV show The Amazing Race. In Season 10 (2006), the teams made a stop in Madagascar. The challenge was to locate the black angel which is the local name for this dramatic war memorial in Anosy lake. The statue however was already painted white so several teams were confused and got lost. I literally was screaming, go to the lake, go to the lake!
Canon EOS 350D Digital, 1/800s, f/10, 30mm, ISO 400
One of the attractions of Tana (Antananarivo) in Madagascar, East Africa, the War Memorial is a monument to the soldiers who died for France and sits in Anosy Lake.
Canon EOS 350D Digital, 1/160s, f/9.0, 55mm, ISO 100
As luck would have it, I visited Madagascar mid-November and it was bloom season for the Jacaranda trees.
Canon EOS 350D Digital, 1/160s, f/9.0, 55mm, ISO 100
The colors are amazing! Had I been there some other time of the year, the lake would just have been ordinary. But its green hue turned doubly brilliant when ringed by the purple flower-laden trees. Even the boulevard around the lake was petal-carpeted in blue-violet.
Canon EOS 350D Digital, 1/100s, f/8.0, 33mm, ISO 100
The jacarandas are not really native to Madagascar. They originated from South and Central America and brought to the island during French colonial times.
Canon EOS 350D Digital, 1/160s, f/8.0, 18mm, ISO 100
The Black Angel of Madagascar may now be white but purple could be her too.
2 comments:
Did you know that the Angel in Anosy was black until about 2002/2003? As the worldwide tradition goes for these war memorials, all are painted black. But when the entering president, Marc Ravalomanana, a born-again Christian, came to power finally, he demanded the angel be painted white. He declared it blasphemy to paint any of God's symbols the color of the devil, which he believes is black! No kidding.
J Jackson- So that's the reason why it is white now! thanks for the information.
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