Harmattan is the name of the dry season in West Africa. It gets its name from the winds that blow south from the Sahara Desert bringing with them fine particles of dust and sand.
With no rain to settle the dust it fills the air. You can see it, you can smell it, you can taste it. Your lips crack, your eyes burn, your floor is always dirty no matter how often you sweep/mop it, your pretty little white MacBook slowly turns brownish-red, your camera lenses have to be wiped clean after almost every shot.
What is amazing is how harmattan seems to happen overnight. Just last week it hit us and everything in the landscape looked hazy. To make matters even worse, farmers are now starting to burn their fields which adds smoke and ash to the dust in the air.
To illustrate the point I have some photos that Oli took a just over two months ago (Sept 9th). We took similar photos from the same vantage point and the difference is startling.
| Sept. 9, 2007 | Nov. 13, 2007 |
|---|---|
 |
 |
 |
 |