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On Thursday after breakfast, we checked out of our hotel, Gausil
came to collect us in the Toyota and we set off excitedly for
Kano. Based upon our Lonely Planet research, we had high
hopes for what we would see in Kano, due to its status as a
largely Muslim, very old walled city that was a major stop on
the sub-Saharan trade route across Africa that is a bit of a
tourist destination, if there is one in Nigeria. After a
pleasant 2-hour ride, we arrived in town and Gausil easily
located our hotel, after a bit of asking around. A friend
of John's had kindly made us a reservation at the Prince Hotel,
which also came highly recommended by our Lonely Planet
guidebook. John had written down the room category and the
rate of 15,000 Naira on a sheet of paper for us. They had
the reservation for us but they were unwilling to honor the rate
given over the phone, saying that the person who made our
reservation for us must have made a mistake and wrote down the
wrong amount - classic Nigeria (and Mexico, too, for that
matter). Now the rate was a bit higher and we ended up
paying about $150 for the night for a lesser room. The
room was still a little nicer than the one at the Crest Hotel in Jos, for about $50 more dollars.
The hotel itself had
a decidedly international feeling about it and we encountered
more non-Nigerians than anywhere we had yet to visit: most
noticeably, there was a group of three young European women, a
pair of Asian gals and a table of gents in the outdoor
patio/bar holding a casual business meeting between an American,
who was working for the (Bill) Gates Foundation, a Mexican and a
Nigerian. We felt more comfortable here than anywhere we
had been so far on the trip, both at the hotel and in the city
in general.
As it was around lunchtime when we checked in, we dropped our
bags in
our room and told Gausil that we wanted to go to a suya
(marinated meat cooked on a stick) stand called The
University of Suya that we had read about in our guidebook
and was on our map. It was located in another hotel
compound that was practically right around the corner from The
Prince Hotel. Scott could tell from the map exactly how to
get there. Well, we did not take into account that
apparently Nigerians are not schooled in map-reading. Our
driver looked at the map. He drove around. We drove back
to the hotel, where about ten Nigerians all looked at the map
(some, in an upside-down orientation). Everyone seemed
very interested in the map, but no one seemed to be able to read
it in order to find their way around the corner! Scott,
from the backseat, politely tried to suggest to Gausil where to
go but he would not listen and continued to drive around in the
wrong directions(s)!
Finally
(after Gausil decided that Scott just might know what he was
talking about), we found the place. Since it was basically
just a stand, the owner put out a couple of plastic chairs for
us to sit on. Gausil, after gruffly telling the suya
man to let me take his picture and to "treat us well, we are
here from Abuja to taste your suya," went running
off (ok, it was more of a saunter, really)
to a little shop in the compound to buy us some Cokes to go with
our suya (he insisted on going for us and seemed intent
on not letting us do anything for ourselves). He seemed
somewhat placated, after his earlier frustration with us, when
we bought him a suya plate (it cost about 85 cents per
plate of beef suya) and he got to sit and read his
newspaper.
After lunch, we drove around some more in search
of the Gidan Makama Museum, with Gausil stopping periodically and
beckoning an idle okada driver over to the car.
Upon pleasantly greeting (usually, anyway) the taxi driver,
Gausil would then ask where the museum was and if they were
unsure or unclear or he simply didn't understand their
directions, he would shout at them,
"Wheya is it??? Take me
Dere!!!!" (Don't forget to read the previous quotes with
a Nigerian accent.) After this happened a few times, we
finally made our way to the museum. A guide approached us
almost as soon as we exited our car in the parking lot and
started with his spiel. He seemed like a decent,
knowledgeable guy and we decided to make use of his services
(did we have a choice?). After Gausil haggled over the
entrance price ("IS TOO MUCH, TOO MUCH!!!") and lost, Scott paid
for the three of us (all of about $6 total) and we went on an
interesting tour. There were more full-scale architectural
models, including a typical Bride's Hut, which Scott and
Caroline enjoyed. We also saw nice exhibits on the Five
Pillars of Islam and the colonial history of Nigeria, both of
which Gausil seemed to take particular interest in. After
we finished with the museum, our friendly guide offered to take
us to Dala Hill, located in the middle of the Old City and
affording 360-degree views of Kano. The ride was
stress-free (thanks to the presence of our guide in the front
seat next to Gausil) and the atmosphere, while still lively,
became much more old-world and authentic-seeming once we entered
the gates to the Old City. It was also sadly slummy and
the residents were obviously very poor, even by Nigerian
standards. We paid a guy a bribe (200 Naira or less than
$2) in order to gain entrance to the public hill and climbed to
the top. It was so exhilarating - it was nearly the first
time on our trip that we got to walk further than from a parking
lot to a building and it was great to be out in the open air on
a lovely sunny day!
Gausil really seemed to be hitting his stride,
too. Once we reached the top of the hill and took in the
great views, he started taking lots of pictures with his camera
phone, including somewhat sly, unobtrusive photos of us, even!
A little strange and foreign-seeming at first, Gausil actually
seemed to be getting the hang of this 'tourism' thing, and
started to warm up to us a bit (as well he should, as we were
taking him on a sightseeing tour of his country, completely on
our dime - and he was getting paid to do it!) Our guide
was really excellent, which we decided makes all the difference
when touring Nigeria, and Gausil actually seemed to be enjoying
himself (for once). We had a lot of fun this afternoon,
too, especially enjoying the ride through the Old City and the
walk up Dala Hill. We had hoped to see the camel market,
too, but our guide told us that it is too wet in the rainy
season, so we had to save that for our next trip (in other
words, never).
Gausil dropped off the guide and returned us to our hotel, where
we stopped at the hotel's patio bar for a pre-dinner Orange
Fanta (Caroline) and a non-alcoholic malt beverage (Scott), as
there was little (or no) alcohol in this Muslim city. We
enjoyed a meal in The Calypso, the hotel's very nice restaurant
- it actually had a fair amount of ambiance, which was a new
experience for us here in Nigeria - and hit the sack early to
rest up for another day of touring tomorrow.
The suya man, preparing our lunch, at University of
Suya food stand
The Gidan Makama Museum grounds, as they were setting up for an
event
Caroline poses with the guide at the Gidan Makama Museum in Kano
Kano sprawls out from Dala Hill |
These signs, with Islamic religious messages written in Hausa,
are all over the newer part of Kano
A common sight, leaving Jos for Kano
Another common sight: goats (far right) on a trash pile, leaving Jos
for Kano (us, not the goats)
Scott chats with Gausil while strolling around The Prince Hotel
in Kano
Scott & Gausil anxiously await our delicious-smelling lunch
Scott snaps a sneaky photo of the man who extorted money from
us, as we climb the steps to Dala Hill
A gate in the ancient wall to Kano's Old City
We
enjoyed seeing these donkeys carrying loads of sand just outside
the Old City walls |