Namibe

In the city we are almost predators

The beard was long and white and the hair long too but flowing loose. The face was burnt by the sun and an enormous love for the Namibe desert, where he had spent his childhood . He had been enchanted by the dunes, which looked to him like mountains of gold glittering in the distance. Samuel Aço is the main force behind the Centro de Estudos do Deserto (Centre for Desert Studies). This is an association in the heart of Namibe, in southern Angola, delving into the secrets of one of the country's most inhospitable regions.

Face to face

09.12.2010 | by Pedro Cardoso

Desert Travel: Namibe, Angola

I can say, perhaps, that this trip has increased our awareness of the uncontrollable aspects of nature (the Icelandic volcano has now served notice to the oblivious) and revealed to us the existence of populations that are able to combine complex social organization and ownership of simple natural resources, which can only be the result of their deep knowledge of the territory.

To read

22.09.2010 | by Cristina Salvador

The mysterious rock carvings of Tchitundo-hulo

One of the most important archeological sites in southwest Angola, Tchitundo-hulo, lies in a semi-arid region on the edge of the Namib desert. The site comprises an imposing granite inselberg, with three smaller hills nearby. These smaller inselbergs are known as Tchitundo-hulo Mucai, Pedra da Lagoa (Lake Rock), and Pedra das Zebras (Zebra Rock). The inselbergs all feature carvings engraved upon the rockface.

I'll visit

09.08.2010 | by Dario Melo

City or Desert?

To western architects such as me, who have been developing their work as project designers or researchers in Angola, the issue that strikes us the most is the apparent conflict opposing Luanda to the rest of the Angolan territory.