ANALAKELY

Starting from the railway station of Soarano, we go up the Avenue de l'Indépendance towards the Avenue du 26 Juin. The Zoma (large market) no longer exists, it was closed due to health and safety problems, but there are still kiosks where it is possible to do some shopping.

This main axis, traced in 1912 to join the market to the station of Soarano, is the obligatory place of passage of the traveler. On weekends in the evening, many Malagasy come to park there, showing off their bottles (like so much booty) on their hoods, evoking a popular open-air bar.

Under the arcades, craftsmen and sellers offer souvenirs of all kinds: traditional games, jewelry, solitaires, stones, statuettes, copies of funeral sculptures, embroidery and spices, including vanilla.

Along the sidewalks, the 4L, 404, Renault 14, 2 CV blue, yellow, green, red, and often of a very advanced age, testify to the prodigious mechanical ability of Malagasy drivers, who are among the most qualified on the planet, due to unemployment. In some vehicles, the cell phone unlockers operate with astonishing dexterity.

Going up the Avenue du 26 Juin, the big post office (take a look at the colonial map of the world painted on the wall, it dates from the 1930s; small bulbs indicated the progress of the mail by sea or by plane), one will discover, on the right, a series of stairs going up to the Independence Square. To the right of the stairs, the Lido building is worth the detour: on the first floor, a large choice of postcards at unbeatable prices. Upstairs, the snack bar of the Cercle germano-malagasy (formerly Goethe Institute) is an ideal place to have a drink with some Malagasy artists. Its terrace on the top floor (access for a fee), with a view over the old Zoma (this large bazaar now commonly called the Pavilions) and the whole neighborhood of Analakely, is the best place for your overall photographs.

Along the stairs, sunglasses and stamps vendors are crowded. If you wish to have a stamp with your address and an original logo, it will be done in thirty minutes, by hand, for a derisory price.

At the top of the stairs, you arrive at the Independence Square. There, on stalls spread out in the sun the marvels of a craft born of recuperation: Coca cans transformed into Air Madagascar planes, bush cabs, Harley Davidson and multicolored rickshaws...