Gbadolite
pronounced bad o leet.
Gbadolite was the home town of the late dictator Joseph Mobutu, the man who is more responsible than any other for making the Congo what it is today. A little country town, far north of Kinshasa on the border with the Central African Republic; the great man poured money into it, especially during his last years. There were palaces, boulevards, monumental buildings and an airport with a 10,000 foot runway built.
We went up there last week to pick up some election observers. On the way in we contacted the radio operator, got the weather and asked to start our descent. "No Problem" was the reply, as it was to everything else we said or requested. Simple, isn't it?
10,000 feet of good runway and the very large ramp were still there and in good shape. As we taxied in we saw 8 MiG-21's, 2 MI-24's and a LET-410 that weren't. Only partial fuselages of the MiG's were left and of the Hinds a little more. All of the LET was there except one the wings had a bend in it that wasn't there when it left the factory. It looked kind of cute.
A terminal building worthy of the runway was still standing, minus windows and all interior furnishings. After paying the fees at the small navigation building, that still had windows, I asked to use the toilet. They said there was no toilet, would I like to use the pissoir? "Yes I would." The man led me to the back of the building and pointed to the wall.
One of the election observers told me they stayed in 5 star hotel while they were in Gbadolite. Most of those stars were only a memory though.
We boarded up, asked for departure, "No Problem", and we left Gbadolite; the place that started as a little country town and is back to being a little country town only now with a lot of concrete and iron decaying in the sun. The kids must have fun playing on all that stuff.
Gbadolite was the home town of the late dictator Joseph Mobutu, the man who is more responsible than any other for making the Congo what it is today. A little country town, far north of Kinshasa on the border with the Central African Republic; the great man poured money into it, especially during his last years. There were palaces, boulevards, monumental buildings and an airport with a 10,000 foot runway built.
We went up there last week to pick up some election observers. On the way in we contacted the radio operator, got the weather and asked to start our descent. "No Problem" was the reply, as it was to everything else we said or requested. Simple, isn't it?
10,000 feet of good runway and the very large ramp were still there and in good shape. As we taxied in we saw 8 MiG-21's, 2 MI-24's and a LET-410 that weren't. Only partial fuselages of the MiG's were left and of the Hinds a little more. All of the LET was there except one the wings had a bend in it that wasn't there when it left the factory. It looked kind of cute.
A terminal building worthy of the runway was still standing, minus windows and all interior furnishings. After paying the fees at the small navigation building, that still had windows, I asked to use the toilet. They said there was no toilet, would I like to use the pissoir? "Yes I would." The man led me to the back of the building and pointed to the wall.
One of the election observers told me they stayed in 5 star hotel while they were in Gbadolite. Most of those stars were only a memory though.
We boarded up, asked for departure, "No Problem", and we left Gbadolite; the place that started as a little country town and is back to being a little country town only now with a lot of concrete and iron decaying in the sun. The kids must have fun playing on all that stuff.
posted by Carl at 12:54 AM
5 Comments:
I think I want to become a pilot. You get to go to all the interesting spots.
do not, do not, do not become a pilot; unless you can be a military pilot. ultimately the job is a frustration bordering on heartbreak.
One might say that about a lot of jobs. I probably cannot be a military pilot.
Reading about Mobutu's "gifts" to Gbadolite makes me think of that poem Xanadu. We build these monuments to ourselves, thinking we'll be remembered forever. A decade or two after we're gone, so are the "eternal" monuments.
Carl,
Here's a nice "view" of the runway ..
Unfortunately, there's no high resolution imagery of it. But it looks quite amazing. At 3.3km long, its definitvely something! Reputedly, Mobutu used to have a concorde chartered and parked there for months at a time. Sometimes, it would do a round trip to paris and back just for champagne.
Crazy guy indeed!
Hope you're doing fine. As for the results, the CEI-RDC web page (www.cei-rdc.cd) has some provisional results there, listed by towns and regions but not the overall. Anyhow, I'vw compiled a list of 20 or so cities -including kin- and looks like kabila won't make it over 50%... we'll see!
Cheers,
Diego
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