By the time we had breakfast on Friday, the Babbses had left for their flight back to Paris.
Instead, we met a family of four who were about to fly back to the United States after several years as missionaries in Madagascar. Their son had attended a French-language grade school, and their daughter had never visited much less lived in America. Culture shock ahead!
Today we were scheduled to tour Antananarivo, so Jocelyn picked us up at about 10 am.
We climbed and climbed and climbed until we reached the Rova, Tana's highest hilltop, and there we made our first stop at this impressive church:
Dedicated in 1868, Ambohipotsy Memorial Church was built by the London Missionary Society on the spot where Ralalama, the first Malagasy Christian martyr, was speared to death in 1837. She had defied Queen Ranavalona's decree forbidding her subjects to practice Christianity.
After the Queen's death in 1861, King Radama II granted religious freedom, and Christians once again practiced their faith openly.
We failed to find an open door, so after exploring the area and reading the plaque which memorialized Ralalama's martyrdom, we began walking down the steep hill to the next historic site.
The Queen's Palace, a royal residence in the nineteenth century and a museum in the twentieth, was severely damaged by a suspicious fire in 1995.
Reconstruction and refurbishment began in 2006, and because they are still renovating the interior the museum is closed.
As we continued down the hill, we passed this undated terra cotta bas relief fronting a ruined residence. It depicts the history of Madagascar.
Our next stop— the Lapa Andafiavaratra, or Palace of the Prime Minister. Specifically, Prime Minster Rainilaiarivony, who served from 1865 until he was exiled when the French captured the Palace in its military campaign to conquer and colonize Madagascar in 1895.
Now a museum, almost 1,500 pieces rescued from the Queen's Palace fire are displayed here, including these gifts from Queen Victoria . . .
. . . and this table— anything come to mind? . . . (hint: see July 31) . . .
. . . and this exquisite silver mail (an invention credited to the Celts) . . .
. . . and what self-respecting museum doesn't include a dinosaur?
Specifically, a Majungasaurus that lived in Madagascar some 60 or more million years ago.
The interior of the Lapa hints at the former magnificence of the Prime Minister's residence . . .
. . . as does the exterior:
We had a delightful guide. Although she was shy, she allowed us to take her picture.
And then she took ours.
Soon we were back in the van and on our way to the Roman Catholic Cathedral . . .
. . . and its outdoor altar (Liturgy on the Litho rather than Mass on the Grass?) . . .
Of course, as an Episcopal priest, with an Episcopal entourage, I wondered why our itinerary included the Roman Catholic Cathedral rather than the Anglican Cathedral. . . .
So, looking around, and drawing on my memory's gray matter, I surmised we were "in the neighborhood," and pointed in what I thought to be, and what turned out to be, a promising direction.
And, voilà, our Cathedral, in walking distance (although we were driven there!).
Unhappily, I do not have an exterior picture of the Cathedral of St. Lawrence; and the only picture I could find on the internet is this one (which doesn't capture the spacious courtyard in front of the door where parishioners can gather, or the Deanery off to the left:
Here are some interior pictures, beginning with the intricate roof supports:
Here are two of the patterned stained glass clerestory windows:
And the sanctuary, with the painting of the ascension on the reredos:
The nave is separated from the choir and organ by a delicate wrought iron rood screen:
And the baptistery features this baptismal font with a tapering lid, a medieval innovation apparently to prevent people from stealing the holy water, or perhaps merely to keep the water clean:
(The surroundings are cluttered because the Cathedral is undergoing repairs.)
Beyond this sign at the street entrance to the Cathedral, prepare to climb some thirty or more stone steps to the Cathedral's courtyard!
How's your Malagasy?
My guess is that you can probably translate all of it, once you know that the Katedraly Santa Laurent is in the Ambohimanoro neighborhood of Antananarivo.
For dinner we enjoyed our third visit to an intimate French restaurant located on the ground floor of the Manga Guest House.
Rodrigue, the chef of Bistrot 21, was born in Spain and trained in France. We had the pleasure of meeting him one night, and complimented him on the delicious food. The two young French-speaking women who served us were as delightful as they were patient.
We spent our last night at the Manga Guest House, disappointed only by the lack of promised internet service, and the lack of promised Visa credit card capability, because the owner had absconded for the weekend, and the remaining staff were powerless to act.
We set our alarms for an early morning transit to Ivato airport for our flight to Tolagnaro.
To Be Continued!
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