Sunday in Antananarivo: Church, Family, and Rice
To see the real Antananarivo, come on a Sunday: families in their best climbing to church, massed hymns over the hills, and the long rice-centred family lunch that anchors the day.
Tagged: bridge
Bridge article — connects traffic to money. Itineraries, destination guides, transport.
Why Lemurs Exist Only in Madagascar
Lemurs live wild nowhere but Madagascar. The reason: ancestors rafted from Africa 50+ million years ago to a predator-free island — and monkeys evolved too late to follow.
Honey and Ylang-Ylang: the Scented Harvests of Nosy Be
You can smell Nosy Be before you land. Inside Madagascar’s Perfume Island: the ylang-ylang flower behind Chanel No. 5, and the rare honeys of an endemic Malagasy bee.
Lake Anosy and the Monument Nobody Explains
In the heart of Antananarivo lies a heart-shaped lake and a black monument topped by a golden angel — a memorial to Malagasy soldiers who died for France in World War I.
The Taboo Lemurs Communities Refuse to Harm
The indri — babakoto, ‘father of man’ — is fady to harm because many Malagasy believe it carries ancestral spirits. How a taboo quietly protects Madagascar’s sacred lemurs.
The Legend of the Baobab, the Tree Planted Upside Down
Legend says the gods planted the baobab upside down for its pride. The truth is a water-storing giant — and 6 of the world’s 8 baobab species are Malagasy, not African.
Tsingy: How Madagascar Grew a Forest of Stone
The Tsingy is a forest of razor-sharp limestone spires — an ancient seabed uplifted and carved by rain into a stone maze ‘where one cannot walk barefoot.’
The Zoma: Once Among the World’s Largest Markets
Every Friday, white parasols buried the heart of Antananarivo under what was called the world’s largest open-air market. The story of the Zoma — and what replaced it in 1997.