24 August 2025
We head north today to the summer palace of the previous Merina royalty. Drove out on a new section of motorway just opened in the last few days: it just felt wrong with no potholes! Only 8km long – but the political party made big show of opening.
Merina Kings and Queens ruled over a large portion of Madagascar from 1540 until 1897 when Madagascar became a French colony. In 1794 King Andrianampoinimerina came into power and wanted to expand the Merina territory right out to the coast, so he married daughters of kings of other tribes. Using this approach (with some force as well), he unified the 18 tribes of Madagascar within 7 years. He had 12 wives so there used to be 12 palaces around the city matching with the 12 sacred hills.
His son, Radama I, was the first to admit and regularly engage European missionaries and diplomats in Antananarivo. The 33-year reign of Queen Ranavalona I, the widow of Radama I, was characterised by a struggle to preserve the cultural isolation of Madagascar from modernity, especially as represented by the French and British. Her son and heir, King Radama II, signed the unpopular Lambert Charter giving French entrepreneur Joseph-François Lambert exclusive rights to many of the island’s resources. His liberal policies angered the aristocracy, however, and Prime Minister Rainivoninahitriniony had the King strangled in a coup d’état. This aristocratic revolution saw Rasoherina, the queen dowager, placed on the throne upon her acceptance of a constitutional monarchy that gave greater power to the Prime Minister. Under her reign, the Lambert Charter was publicly burned in January 1866, and the Merina Kingdom signed a trade agreement with the United States in 1867. She replaced the incumbent Prime Minister with his brother, Rainilaiarivony, who retained the role for three decades and married each successive queen! The next sovereign, Ranavalona II, converted the nation to Christianity and had all the sampy (ancestral royal talismans) burnt in a public display. The last Merina sovereign, Queen Ranavalona III, acceded the throne at age 22 and was exiled to Réunion Island and later French Algeria following French colonisation of the island in 1896.
Apart from my not knowing previously that there were kings and queens in Madagascar, the summer palace was quite a surprise. From the outside, the palace walls could belong to a castle in Europe. Inside, the original King’s palace was what I would have expected – a thatched one-room hut. It is very high inside and very dark – we are told that the king used to climb up a ‘ladder’ into the rafters and hide there if he didn’t want to meet his visitors. King 145cm at time when average height was 159cm.
Then there is the Queen’s Palace – a huge surprise because not only is it more ‘European’ in architecture, it is furnished with ‘European’ style antique furniture and with wallpaper that is over 150 years old. There are photos of the three Queens Ranavalona. I am particularly struck by the second Queen – who reigned concurrently with Queen Victoria. Although they never met, there are gifts in the palace that were sent by Queen Victoria; and the photo shows Queen Ranavalona II wearing the same fashions (that would have been very unsuitable for Madagascar).
Upstairs there is the very British-looking Belvedere Room – essentially the War Room where the royals could plan their next moves with panoramic views of the surrounding countryside.
There are also tombs of many of the royals and ancestors; and the bathing pools – there are ‘the Virgin Steps’ leading up to the Queen’s pool, which must be filled by water carried up by virgins.
After visiting the Summer Palace we drive to the nearby Akalana Restaurant for a cooking lesson. It is renowned for its authentic Malagasy cuisine, offering a delightful array of traditional dishes that reflect the rich cultural heritage of Madagascar. From savory stews to fresh seafood, each meal is prepared with locally sourced ingredients, ensuring a true taste of the island’s flavors.
We learn to make a Malagasy terrine (a special dish for celebrations): chicken liver and heart, and zebu mince with garlic and ginger wrapped in choko or chinese cabbage leaves. It is cooked in a juice made with green pepper, carrot and onions. We also make tournado-style chicken where it is flattened out, seasoned with ginger and garlic, and rolled up. It is browned and then cooked in with the terrine. When the terrine is cooked, it is sliced and then browned. Then we had lunch in the restaurant, having an egg salad entrée followed by the dish we made (something they had prepared earlier).
Then we drove back into the city getting good views of other parts of town. There are no traffic lights in Madagascar; policemen control corners. It is Sunday afternoon and we see many out in their Sunday best – a very smart jacket and tie for men. Others are out for a Sunday drive or doing their laundry. There are lots of malls – shopping seems to be a universal pastime, along with eating fast food: pizza is very popular; we see KFC but no MacDonalds. Sunday afternoon is a also a time when people are out playing or watching sports – football rugby (women’s team played NZ , lost 30-0); petanque is very popular, as is cockfighting (but not to death).
We stop at a craft market (many not open because it is Sunday). We walked along a row of them and I found a couple of small paintings and some vanilla oil and extract – using up the last of my money. It is amazing what a deal can be done when you have no more money available.
Then we headed up to the Queen’s palace in the city centre. The road up is steep and narrow and it is crazy busy but we got amazing views of the other side of the city from the lookout point. Lake Anosy, has a distinct heart shape and features the Monument aux Morts, a French-built war memorial on a central island. We can see the cathedral and botanic and other gardens.
When we got back to the hotel Anne and I went for a walk to see if we could get a good view looking back up to our distinctive Hotel Pallisandre. Our room is on the top floor under the gable and we have a panoramic view of the sunset. On our way we ended up in the middle of the local Sunday market. Although it was crowded, no one was particularly interested in us so we could just wander through saying bonjour or salama to people.
Tonight we have our farewell dinner. Our almost fortnight has gone so fast and it is sad to see it come to an end.
Tomorrow is a long travel day as we fly back to Johannesburg and then catch a flight through to Cape Town.
Leave a Reply