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“You shook my hand. Everyone saw you!! Buy the goat or I’ll call the guardsmen!”
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A photo can steal one's soul
Near the town of Harar you can find Babile Camel Market. I don’t know what to expect from the event, but my friend Johnny assures me that it is really picturesque and we must be careful with our cameras. ” Shepherds are very jealous of their beasts and some of them might get angry if they see us photographing them.“
In my trip to Ethiopia, I learnt that taking a photo is always risky: people may react to the camera in very different ways, according to the religious beliefs of their tribe.
Sometimes you can meet people who are willing to be photographed -some pose ostentatiously and have lots of fun pretending to be movie stars; sometimes people get very angry, they start chasing you and only let you go after checking you have deleted the photos you’ve taken. They believe photos can take a part of their soul and do not want a stranger to go away with it.
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Babile, a cheerful village born in the fascist era
Babile can be reached by a Roman road, a vestige of Muslim colonial enterprise. The huts contrast with the cobblestones, making the atmosphere captivating and decadent.
To get to the market, you have to cross the village. Here the pavements disappear and the road gets umpaved and dirt, reddish in color. You literally enter the houses and spy on people’s private lives, since they are out doing all those activities that we keep inside the house.
Rather than feeling invaded, they welcome us with curiosity. Lively and cheerful children begin to follow us: they laugh constantly and my camera sends them into a frenzy. I keep taking pictures and showing them. They laugh louder and louder, their happiness is contagious, and more and more children gather around us. From the neighboring houses is a continuous look and greet us.
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Babile Camel Market
We reach the camel market and the atmosphere changes dramatically. The animals are grouped on the back of a hill.
If one gets lazy and sits down, it is immediately invited with the stick to get back on its feet. There are hundreds of dromedaries, all meek and silent. They group together and never mix. Trading takes place in a separate tent, where we are not allowed to approach.
The atmosphere is peculiar: we are allowed to go around the market, but the photographs are barely tolerated. I meet two gentlemen who have walked with us through the village. We talked and smiled the whole way. When we entered the market, I confided that they let me take a photo of their camels so I photograph them smiling. I almost got beaten up.
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A handshake is a purchase commitment
The sheep market takes place in an adjacent square. Men and women bargain animatedly. My friend Barbara is approached by an old man, who smiles at her and shakes her hand. Then he gives her a goat on a leash and starts gesturing vehemently. A tour guide from a different group of tourists comes and explains what is going on.
“Did he shake your hand a little while ago?”. ” Yes, he approached me and shook my hand,” says Barbara. “The handshake validates the purchase. You just bought his goat and he wants to get paid“.
“But I don’t have room for a goat in Milan!” The man keeps babbling. ” He says he doesn’t care: you can cook it tonight and offer it to your friends!”
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More from Ethiopia Travel Blog
TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHY
BABILE CAMEL MARKET, ETHIOPIA
Stringimi la mano
– Inspirational photo gallery –
A pochi chilometri da Harar, nel vivace villaggio di Babile, si tiene il mercato dei dromedari. Si vendono anche bovini e ovini. Una stretta di mano vincola all’acquisto.
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7 Comments
1 July 2018 at 19:01
Ancora una volta sono stato teletrasportato in un mondo sconosciuto grazie alle immagini eccelse e descrizioni accattivanti.bravo
9 July 2018 at 14:00
Il sorriso dei bambini è la forma più autentica della gioia di vivere . Il sorriso dei bambini che vivono con poco è l essenza della gioia di vivere . Sapersi fermare a catturarne l attimo e’ un dono degli animi sensibili. Grazie per le foto che posti . Ciao Andrea
30 May 2020 at 19:53
Bellissime foto
30 May 2020 at 20:47
Sempre fotografie molto belle che catturano i momenti più particolari delle usanze di un popolo, la gioia e l’entusiasmo che si legge nei volti dei bambini é veramente emozionante. Grazie per condividere il tuo lavoro!!
30 May 2020 at 21:17
Quando guardo le tue foto e soprattutto i volti mi emoziono. Sei immensamente bravo. Grazie e ciao
30 May 2020 at 21:36
Bellissime tutte! Poi noi di cosa ci lamentiamo!? Sogno un mondo di uguaglianza dove non ci sia più spazio per la sofferenza!
14 August 2020 at 11:42
Immagini stupende e racconti incredibili…ci fai viaggiare in posti al di la’ del tempo e dello spazio e vivere esperienze uniche che ti cambiano la vita.