After the Durbar

Recovering today from racing around Northern Nigeria with my folks in the past 11 days. Yesterday we went to the old city of Zaria for the Durbar (horse pageant marking Sallah) - see pix above. Our host was the main guy in the picture immediately above (the son-in-law of the Emir).

It was an extremely spectacular event - 1000's of beautiful horses gorgeously adorned, gunshots smoting the air, scowling scary hyenas, camels turding and chewing, maidens a plenty, and serious looking men with huge turbans, all to a pasolini-esque soundtrack of wild oscillating sahel flutes and 8 foot long brass horns rumbling sonic farts into the ether. As close as you can get to an Elizabethan jousting tournement and medieval existence (except that one State Governor arrived in a huge gleaming Hummer, which kindof spoilt things). Folks are in the air back to the UK with super saturated images of West Africa etched indelibly into their minds..