Is Burkina Faso Worth Traveling to?
Apart from a few historical monuments, the most important attraction is the crocodile lake and zoo. For about 50 dollars, you can witness the crocodiles being fed with chickens by the keepers. In the extremely dangerous environment, you are not allowed to get close to the crocodiles, you are only allowed to take photos from a distance.
The capital of the landlocked country in the western region of Africa is OUAGADOUGOU (Vagadugu), which is not easily pronounced in our language. Due to its various underground riches, this is a geography that has been colonized by western countries for many years. For this reason, a large number of westerners traveling here for various reasons can be encountered on airplanes. To a considerable extent, western companies continue their activities in the country for underground riches.
In this country, which is not very dense in terms of population, Islam has been adopted by more than half of the people, and you can easily notice many traces of this in daily life while traveling around the city. You can reach the region in 6-7 hours with a direct flight from Istanbul. At the airport with the same name as the capital city, which has very modest facilities, your transactions are carried out in a very short time. Calm and helpful officials will attract your attention immediately. French, the colonial language, is not used intensively today for some reason, and local languages and English come to the fore in daily life.
In daily life, food and beverage opportunities, which are cheap compared to our country, are extremely attractive. A meal costs around 2-3 dollars with a soft drink. The products sold in the markets are offered at very affordable prices in this sense. You can get quality French and South African wines at very affordable prices. Since unemployment is high among the citizens of a very poor country, you can come across many peddlers along the roads, especially wooden products at very attractive prices. Another interesting feature is that the concept of bargaining is not very valid here. I especially recommend very high quality woodworking products.
Due to its tropical climate, it is a geography with a climate that is not very cold even in January and February. In summer, it is inevitable that you will encounter serious temperatures. As a precaution against malaria, which is the inevitable threat of these regions, choosing a long shirt will always be the most guaranteed precaution, regardless of whether it is summer or winter. It is necessary to be extremely careful against mosquitoes, especially during sunrise and sunset.
In terms of security, there is no threat against foreigners. It is a region where coups against the regime frequently occur due to the separatist forces within the country. For this reason, it is possible to encounter armed people while traveling around the city. Although it does not pose a threat to foreigners, it would be an appropriate course of action for your safety to leave the area immediately if you notice that the environment is getting tense. It is of great benefit to check the latest security situation before going to this country, which has a visa application for citizens of our country (except diplomatic passports). By the way, it is also possible to obtain a visa at the airport.
The houses and regions where the very poor people live will arouse different emotions in you. Contrary to having such rich underground riches, the level of life that people live will raise various question marks in your mind as a great contradiction. The yellow and earth-colored life along the road, which is generally integrated with the heat, is the most important striking element of the daily life of the roadside vendors. People living in earthen and adobe houses and wooden huts will make up the majority of your photo frames. The other thing that will attract your attention is the intensive use of motorcycles and bicycles instead of cars.
Apart from a few historical monuments, the most important attraction is the crocodile lake and zoo. For about 50 dollars, you can witness the crocodiles being fed with chickens by the caretakers. In the extremely dangerous environment, you are not allowed to approach, only taking photos from a distance is allowed. When you come here, wooden products as well as local products are in high demand by tourists. There is also an intense sale of cream (shea butter) that is good for all kinds of wounds. You can easily find this oil in every green-colored pharmacy like a small tin hut.
I would like to remind you that the service in the restaurants, which are not many in the city, is quite slow. It is among the routines of daily life here that transactions take longer than you expect. Everything happens at a very slow pace. But the only thing that can happen fast is the unethical overcharging attempts of taxi drivers as in most parts of the world.
For this reason, you should ask the reception desk of the hotel you are staying at for approximate taxi prices and agree with the taxi driver before you get in to avoid any possible victimization. Most of the taxis do not have air conditioning and are paid in advance in local currency.
Ouagadougou Mosque and Ouagadougou Cathedral are among the rare buildings that can be seen in the city for religious groups. Likewise, the National Museum of Burkina Faso can be evaluated. On the other hand, Moro-Naba Palace is an important building used as a museum today. It is said that the short-term ceremonies held here are remarkable. I was not able to attend these ceremonies during my stay, so I cannot give any information about them, but I learned that these ceremonies, which were very interesting, lasted about 10-15 minutes in the afternoon and that photography or video shooting was not allowed. I will experience it on my next visit, if possible, and report back to you.
I especially recommend you to visit Ouagadougou market, which is quite big and located right in the center of the city. There are many products you can buy in the open market where many products are sold at very attractive prices. Especially the wood products as well as the paintings made by local artists with plant paints are very remarkable. Approximately two days is enough to visit this city. I wish you all a pleasant trip.
