Myths about Africa, which many believe is still

• Myths about Africa, which many believe is still

Many people still believe that if they go to Africa, they saw the tribes and wild animals roaming the streets, dirt roads and dilapidated housing. We've put together a few facts about this mysterious place, to introduce you to its real wonders.

1. In Africa, there is no technological progress.

We were taught that Africa is made up of developing countries. But this does not mean that the continent lives in the Middle Ages. 90% of Africans have a mobile phone, and in Africa there are programmers who create their own applications and gadgets. For example, local developers created an application for the farmers with advice on animal husbandry and disaster information. In addition, production is well developed in Africa, and produced large equipment and even cars in some countries.

2. Africa - hot desert.

Often, when someone hears about Africa, they are instantly visualized image scorching and barren desert. Despite this common misconception, in fact, there is an incredibly large area of ​​tropical forests, Mount Kilimanjaro and other snow-capped peaks, as well as the savanna in Africa. All climatic zones are presented in Africa, and the average temperature, even in equatorial continent does not exceed 27 ° C.

3 wild animals live in Africa.

So many TV shows, movies and cartoons showed us that in Africa inhabited by wild animals that roam freely in nature and can easily attack people. But in fact most safaris take place in the winter months, when the potentially dangerous snakes and insects are dormant. As for the wild animals, most of them now live in the national parks. Cases of attacks on humans are extremely rare and almost always occur only because of the violation of the rules of parks where people deliberately trying to make contact with animals or their attempt to hunt down.

4. The crime rate is extremely high in Africa.

It is widely believed that the tourists in Africa should always beware of the high crime rate. The truth is that tourism is very developed and African countries have become fashionable and popular tourist destination among Western travelers. In South Africa, there are now 1, 5 million tourists a year. This may be due to the fact that the level of service is growing, and tourism conditions are significantly improved, thus providing a unique opportunity to be close to nature and exotic animals.

5. Africa has no cultural heritage.

Thinking about Africa, we often imagine a primitive society without a developed culture and even history. Africa is rightly called the cradle of civilization - there are a lot of different ancient buildings and other cultural monuments, which are carefully guarded in the continent. Kenya, for example, has more than 200 architectural monuments. In addition, there are some very interesting museums, which are supported by the government in many African countries.

6. Africa lives below the poverty line.

When you are planning a trip to Africa, most people are getting ready to see the poverty. Although there are countries living below the poverty line, they are much smaller than many people think. In general, the economic level of the African countries is not much different from other developing countries, because the middle class is just developing. At the same time, these countries are actively investing in tourism, creating comfortable hotels and recreational areas to attract tourists.

7. The epidemics of dangerous diseases occurring throughout Africa. Media periodically tell us about a new outbreak of dreaded diseases in Africa, and we are accustomed to think that on the continent there are many fatal diseases. In fact, the sensational Ebola did not cover the entire continent, but only to Sierra Leone and its surroundings. The second disease that most often comes to mind when talking about Africa - it's malaria. Of course, malarial mosquitoes do exist, but there is nothing to be afraid of if you follow the simple rules of safety. Precautions include repellents, mosquito nets and preventive medications.

8 Africans live in huts.

Not all African people live in huts. This is a huge mistake, because the construction of large cities in Africa is not much different from other cities - are multi-storey apartment buildings, skyscrapers and business centers. Development of architecture and infrastructure make the African city very progressive. There are still some people living in huts, such as the Bushmen, but very few of them.

9. African languages.

African languages ​​do not exist, in fact, unique tribal languages ​​are disappearing. Africa's population in the period of colonization absorbed European languages ​​such as English, French, German and Portuguese. Languages ​​are distributed more quickly with the help of television and the Internet. On the continent, speak hundreds of different languages; Africa - a godsend for linguists - only 20 official languages ​​exist in Namibia.

10. Africa torn by political conflicts.

American films often show us the local war or political unrest in African countries. Indeed, for 90 years on the continent broke the local conflicts and at the same time took place more than a dozen wars. These wars were a legacy of the colonial era, when national borders were established on the basis of the interests of the colonizers and almost not considered a real cultural and historical isolation of the country. Today, we defined territory and end the war outside the borders.

11. In Africa, food shortages.

Many photos and movies show hungry people in Africa, and this makes us think that this problem has engulfed the entire continent. Hunger exists in Africa, but not in all of them. About a quarter of the fertile soil in the world is here and not all of it is used for agriculture. In tourist areas there are no problems with the food, and in South Africa and Egypt, McDonald's restaurants are quite common.

12. White people hate in Africa.

This myth arose after the era of slavery and colonization, when the liberation of Africa and replaced the Europeans regained its sovereignty. on the black and white division exists even today, but light complexion distributed to the local population, and it is not a problem that causes aggression. In countries with developed tourism people are accustomed to travelers of all nationalities and treat them very well. To avoid even the potential problems, you need to limit yourself to the tourist areas and not to provoke the local population, both in Latin America or in Mexico.

13. Africa is controlled by tyrants.

The myth that the political regimes in Africa have been established by the military dictatorship and dictators that control continent widespread outside Africa. In fact, in Africa, coexist different political regimes - such as Ghana and Senegal - are examples of the development of democracy. Of course, you can not compare Africa with the European policy of tolerance and openness, but think that the continent lives in a totalitarian regime, will also be a mistake.

14. In Africa, there is no drinking water.

The shortage of clean drinking water in Africa there, and it's terrible, but it does not affect the entire continent. In tourist areas is not difficult to buy a bottle of pure water and all the usual and popular drinks. For example, Coca-Cola can be found even in remote villages.

15. You can not hitchhike in Africa.

A trip to Europe or America often occurs in hitchhiking format, but it is believed that you can not move this way in Africa. In fact, even easier to catch the car on the continent than in developed countries. The main thing - initially indicate a trip condition to the driver.

16. Africa bypassed modern youth trends.

Africa's backwardness in this regard as greatly exaggerated. You will not surprise anyone in social networks, as young generation actively uses Facebook to communicate with friends from other continents.