Tag Archive for edge of the world

Isiolo – Part 3 – Turkana and Samburu Tribal Women

The third and final part of ther Isiolo series, was actually not shot in Isiolo at all……..

If you get in a jeep and drive a few hours north of Isiolo, through increasingly empty terrain (save for the antelope, giraffes and other assorted wildlife)  you come to ‘Archers Post’, basically a village around a catholic mission (or should that be the other way round?) and if you drive for another hour or two even further North you come to Sereolipi, and then you really feel like you are truly in Africa™, nothing but the mud huts, tribal people and African™ bush as far as the eye can see.

The main tribes in the area are called the Turkana (in their oral traditions they designate themselves the people of the grey bull) and the Samburu (They refer to themselves as Lokop or Loikop the meaning of which even the Samburu diagree on)

Much has been written about them and they have, like most heavily adorned African™ tribes, been photographed by everyone and his grandmothers friends dog.

However, I thought , seeing as I was there…………..

So, some bargaining with sugar and tobacco later, allow me to present a series of portraits of Turkana and Samburu tribal women in all their glory.

a

Isiolo-Part 3-Turkana Women 1
Isiolo-Part 3-Turkana Women 2
Isiolo-Part 3-Turkana Women 3
Isiolo-Part 3-Turkana Women 4
Isiolo-Part 3-Turkana Women 5
Isiolo-Part 3-Turkana Women 6
Isiolo-Part 3-Turkana Women 7
Isiolo-Part 3-Turkana Women 8
Isiolo-Part 3-Turkana Women 9
Isiolo-Part 3-Turkana Women 10
Isiolo-Part 3-Turkana Women 11
Isiolo-Part 3-Turkana Women 12

Isiolo- Part 2 – Isiolo Town

For part 2 of the Isiolo series, some pictures of the town itself and its environs.

Isiolo has grown exponentially in the last 5 or 6 years as the road that leads there has been rebuilt and now actually resembles what most of us would refer to as a road rather than a mud track.
As one drives into town the two buildings that immediately jump out are the huge cathedral and the Mosque.
(The Italian priest who built the cathedral apparently died when he climbed up to fix one of the windows above the altar and fell, hitting the large cross on the way down.)
Churches seem to be everywhere you go, no matter how remote the place.

The people were very friendly and inquisitive, it seems that although Isiolo is on the main route north to Lake Turkana that few tourists stop there for any length of time.
At least here the kids didn’t run away crying when they saw me (granted that happens almost everywhere not just in small African towns.)
They were not too keen on having their photos taken though, a phenomenon I encountered through much of Kenya and which I am told is due in large part to the thousands of photographers that visit Africa, take pictures of the poor with their big expensive cameras and leave, leaving the local population feeling somewhat exploited.It’s such a shame though because around the golden hour the light is simply majestic.

The other thing that struck me (though not unique to Isiolo) was the hand painted shop fronts, often named after events that were taking place at the time they were built. Which goes some way to explaining why its ok to have a “Twin Towerz (sic) Hotel”.

It’s worth noting that the last picture in the slide show shows a red shirt marking the spot where a man was eaten by a crocodile less than 2 weeks before the shot was taken, the red shirt was all that remained of the unfortunate fellow.
In fact there were many places, especially near the rivers and lakes, that my guides said we couldn’t walk, because as it was rainy season and the usually barren landscape was a riot of greenery it was too easy for crocodiles and other predators to hide, making it too dangerous.
I was wearing a red shirt that day so I decided to take their advice.

And so, some pictures……….

Isiolo-Part 2-The Town 1
Isiolo-Part 2-The Town 2
Isiolo-Part 2-The Town 3
Isiolo-Part 2-The Town 4
Isiolo-Part 2-The Town 5
Isiolo-Part 2-The Town 6
Isiolo-Part 2-The Town 7
Isiolo-Part 2-The Town 8
Isiolo-Part 2-The Town 9
Isiolo-Part 2-The Town 10
Isiolo-Part 2-The Town 11
Isiolo-Part 2-The Town 12
Isiolo-Part 2-The Town 13
Isiolo-Part 2-The Town 14
Isiolo-Part 2-The Town 15
Isiolo-Part 2-The Town 16

Isiolo – Part 1

During my Kenya sojourn I was lucky enough to stay with a very hospitable Italian man, his Turkana wife and the 19 members of their extended family just outside Isiolo, a small town about 6 hours north of Nairobi.
The friend who suggested I stay there told me “it’s like the edge of the world”.
I didn’t quite understand what she meant untill I went there.
Isiolo is just a small  Kenyan town, interesting enough but fairly unremarkable, however a mere 10 minutes walk outside the town it feels like you have stepped into some National Geographic Africa photo spread, it’s all mud huts, naked children and heavily adorned Turkana tribe men and women.

Magical.

This is the first post in a series about my all too brief stay “at the edge of the world”.
Long exposure (seconds) high ISO shots (some pushing the limits of the 5DmkII) of the house where I stayed.

Much more is coming.

Isiolo-part 1 - Night shots 1
Isiolo-part 1 - Night shots 2
Isiolo-part 1 - Night shots 3
Isiolo-part 1 - Night shots 4
Isiolo-part 1 - Night shots 5