Originally named Lourenço Marques until February of 1976, the capital city of Mozambique — which is currently known as Maputo — is located on an inlet of the Indian Ocean called Maputo Bay in the southern part of the country in Africa.
Sunday Morning Photograph October 16 2022: Maputo in Mozambique.
The Vila Algarve is a residential house that was built in 1934 and know for its Azulejos, which are blue glazed naturalistically decorated tiles. At one time, the Vila Algarve was confiscated by the secret police of Portugal and housed resistance fighters — many of whom were tortured in this building.
When I visited, the Vila Algarve appeared to be in a state of disrepair, with weeds growing wild, loose garbage in the entrance, and chipped or worn masonry. The building was not open to the public while I was in Maputo.
Avenida 25 de Setembro is one of the main streets in Maputo which is usually choked with motor vehicles that do not seem to move. September 25 is Armed Forced Day or Revolution Day in Mozambique and marks the day when the Mozambique Liberation Front — or FRELIMO — launched its first offensive against the colonial rulers of Portugal in 1964.
One of the ironic parts of Avenida Karl Marx is the sign advertising a business above the street sign itself…
…as the market economy is quite a significant change from when Mozambique was a Marxist nation — although the sale of land is reportedly illegal in the country, which is apparently one of the remnants of Marxism. Billboards advertising such companies and products as Pepsi and Huggies diapers can be seen in the city — even near government buildings, as shown in the photograph above.
Final Boarding Call
More articles at The Gate about my experiences in Mozambique include:
- Entering Mozambique as an American: 6 Things About Which You Should Know
- FEIMA: an Oasis in Maputo
- Review: MozGuest Residence in Maputo, Mozambique
Please click here for a complete list of the Sunday Morning Photograph series of articles at The Gate, which include photographs taken of nature and sights of interest in many countries and territories around the world — including but not limited to:
- Andorra
- Argentina
- Bahamas
- Brazil
- Bulgaria
- Canada
- China
- Colombia
- Czechia or Czech Republic
- Dominican Republic
- England in Great Britain in the United Kingdom
- Estonia
- Finland
- Germany
- Iceland
- Kenya
- Latvia
- Lebanon
- Lesotho
- Liechtenstein
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Mozambique
- Panama
- Poland
- Romania
- Singapore
- Slovenia
- South Korea
- Spain
- Swaziland or Eswatini
- Sweden
- Thailand
- United Arab Emirates
- United States
- Uruguay
All photographs ©2009 by Brian Cohen.
