Image descriptions |
This page contains the "LONGDESC" long descriptions for the images in the file about01.htm.
LONG DESCRIPTION:
In the background, the new addition to the
Library under construction, a white faced tower with blue tinted glass.
The existing part of the Library, a three-storey yellow building, is
obscured by the green tree. In the foreground, the Old Library Building,
the single-storey structure which served as library when UB first
began as a part of the federal University of Botswana, Lesotho and
Swaziland. The Old Library now contains offices, the Archaeology
Lab, and the Periodicals Library.
LONG DESCRIPTION:
A fairly typical view of the older parts of UB - single-storey
buildings linked by shaded paths. The paths are of concrete, shaded (and
sheltered from rain) by sheets of roofing material on poles.)
The main shopping mall in the centre of Gaborone. This was one
of the more successful features of the original city design. This
picture was taken on a holiday and is thus uncharacteristically
empty.
LONG DESCRIPTION:
The picture shows a view down the long
axis of the mall. It is paved with paving stones, with buildings
of a few storeys each side. Trees and some unattended stalls
are visible.
The African Mall is an another shopping centre in the original 1960s
part of the city. A more modest place than the main mall but a
centre of many practical necessities: resataurants and fast food shops,
electronics shops, fresh produce, etc.
LONG DESCRIPTION:
The picture shows three women
psoing in front of their fruit-and-vegatable stall, which is located in
the carpark in the middle of the mall. Behind
the stall is the road that runs round the mall. Behind this can be
seen shops, including a Nando's chicken outlet with flags flying
from the roof.
LONG DESCRIPTION:
A Gaborone landmark, located where the main road from the south
enters the city. Kgale Hill is seen across an expanse of grass and low bush.
LONG DESCRIPTION:
Normally the Makgadikgadi Pans are dry.
But in wet years, like this one,
water enters them. This picture of Sua Pan, taken around the end
of June 2000, shows the Pan transformed into a huge lake stretching
to the horizon. Pelicans and other waterbirds have arrived.
Approaching the hills of Shoshong. Shoshong, in the Central District, was once the capital of the BaNgwato under King Sekgoma I in the mid 19th century. Shoshong was a defensible position, which was a prime consideration in Sekgoma's time as he faced a series of threats. It was here that David Livingstone visited Sekgoma, and here that the power struggle between the traditionalist King and his Christian son Khama (later Khama III/the Great) was played out. Khama later moved the capital to Phalatswe and then Serowe, the present seat of the BaNgwato. (See The Abandonment of Phalatswe, 1901-1916 by Prof. Neil Parsons.
This is perhaps a typical view of road travel in Botswana - good roads, huge spaces of bush and flat or rolling country, with sudden hills.
LONG DESCRIPTION:
In the background, the hills of Shoshong seen
in the far distance. In the foreground,an expanse of red soil and
some bush next to the black tarred road. The sky is blue with
small white clouds.
The Gaborone Dam, the water source for Gaborone, is in a sense the foundation of Gaborone itself. In a dry region water is of crucial importance, and the fact that a large dam could be successfully created here was a necessary precondition for the growth of the city. The dam has a yacht club, and also the splendidly named Kalahari Fishing Club. Fishers can be seen by the Old Lobatse Road, where it passes the dam, selling fresh fish to passers-by.
Copyright © 2000 University of Botswana History Department
Last updated 9 August 2000
