Luanda is a city of “Haves and Have Nots”. The contrast is huge. The city of Luanda is often rated one of the most expensive cities in the world – More expensive than Zurich, Singapore or NYC. Homes/apartments for expats can be $10,000-$15,000 USD/month. The average Angolan in Luanda may make as little as $200/month. The city of over 9 million (a third of all Angolans) is surrounded by slums called musseques. The population density is 13,000/square mile.

What attracts the wealth? Angola is the second largest exporter of oil (second to Nigeria) in Africa. They have huge reserves of offshore oil. Angola also mines a lot of diamonds. Many of the poor moved into the city during the prolonged civil war, (covered in my last blog).

Luanda was founded in 1575 by Portuguese Paulo Dias de Novais. The city became the center of the slave trade, sending 5,000 to 10,000 slaves per year primarily to the Portuguese colony of Brazil. Over a million slaves left Angola until slavery was banned in 1836.

We were greeted upon our arrival with a colorful group of singers and dancers.

I opted to take a tour called Luanda Market and Miradoura Le Lua.

Our first stop was at the Fortress of São Miguel, built in 1576.  It is now the home of the National Museum of Military History. There were rooms of paintings, photographs, weapons, etc.

From the walls around the fort we could look down on one the many musseques (slums).

From the other side we could see the high rise building of downtown.

We then went to a small craft market. Mostly baskets,

some clothing and many colorful paintings. I loved the paintings but I have no room in my house for any more art work.

I did find one darling little girl to photograph. I always love the beautiful children.

As we drove around today, we often saw ladies with large items on their heads. They make it seem effortless, but I am sure it involves a lot of skill – and a strong neck.

Across from the market was the National Museum of Slavery. Built in the area where the slaves were held prior to being taken off to the Americas. The museum building is the Capa de Casa Grande, which is where they baptized slaves prior to sending them off to the Americas.

Below the museum was some kind of cactus tree and a baobob tree.

We then continued on to the Miradouro da Lua – which means Viewpoint of the Moon. It reminded me a lot of Bryce Canyon.

Just an example of some of the handicrafts – I am not buying any – have too many similar things at home!

We then went to the Kwanza Lodge on the banks of the Kwanza River for a nice buffet lunch.

Weaverbird nests at the resort.

Then back to the city.

For all our touring, we had a policeman on a motorcycle leading the way and clearing out traffic ahead of us. Without him it would have taken twice as long to get through the gridlocked traffic. But following him reminded me of the Disneyland ride “Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride”. It was crazy. They also had an ambulance follow us everywhere…

For our evening entertainment they brought on a local dance troupe. Some of their dances were nearly x-rated/very suggestive. So, if you are a prude, you might not want to watch the second video!

More history of Luanda from Wikipedia: Luanda was founded in 1575 under the name São Paulo de Loanda by a hundred families of settlers and four hundred soldiers. Two forts were constructed in the early 17th century, and the city became Portuguese Angola's administrative center in 1627. From the late 16th century until 1836, Luanda was the port where nearly all slaves bound for Brazil left.

Luanda grew much like many other colonial cities, albeit with a strong Brazilian influence as a result of the extensive shipping trade between these Portuguese colonies. The independence of Brazil in 1822 and the end of slavery in 1836 left Luanda's future looking bleak, but the opening of the city's port to foreign ships in 1844 led to a great economic boom. By 1850, the city was arguably the most developed and one of the greatest cities in the Portuguese empire outside Portugal itself and fueled by trade in palm and peanut oil, wax, copra, timber, ivory, cotton, coffee, and cocoa. After slavery officially ended (resisted by the Portuguese but enforced by the British) forced labor began. Numerous imported crops grew well in the surrounding area to support residents, such as maize, tobacco, and cassava. In 1889, an aqueduct opened, supplying fresh water and removing the only inhibitor to growth in the city. The city blossomed even during the Portuguese Colonial War (1961–74), which did not affect the city, and this modern city was even labelled the "Paris of Africa" in 1972.

After so much success, the city took a turn for the worse in the mid-1970s. While largely untouched during the Carnation Revolution (Angolan independence), the start of the Angolan Civil War in 1975 scared almost all Angola's population of Portuguese descent out of the country as refugees (including the majority of Luanda's population). This led to an immediate crisis as Angola's African population knew little about how to run or maintain the city. They were helped a little by skilled Cuban soldiers who were able to help the MPLA government maintain some of the city's basic services, but hundreds of thousands of refugees who fled fighting in the countryside created slums stretching for miles on all sides of the city. The city saw some sporadic fighting during the Civil War which left bullet holes in many high-rises and government buildings. When peace was achieved in 2002, the government began planning to rebuild using oil revenues. Today Luanda's skyline is dotted with cranes, erecting numerous social housing apartments to replace slums and existing, but grossly dilapidated, 40-plus-year-old high-rises as well as offices for numerous foreign companies operating in Angola. Just south of Luanda in an area aptly called Luanda Sul, Western-standard housing, many compound-style, is being built for the growing expat community. Major improvements are being made to roads, highways, and the rail system in and around the city but there is yet an overwhelming amount of work to be done. And while certainly still home to a large, impoverished population (59%), free housing and the creation of thousands of new jobs each year means that Luanda may have a bright future ahead.