Lomography

Milot, Haiti
written by titidvivant on September 28th, 2009 , 2 comments (4 votes)

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Outside of Haiti’s second largest city, Cap Haitien, lies a small town with some of the worlds greatest treasures, Milot. You will find it reasonably accessible, it is only about an hour away by tap-tap (the local transportation). The first awe inspiring monument you will see is the “Palais Sans Souci” the former living quarters of King Henri Christophe and his family. Construction began in 1810, and was completed in 1813. If you know a little about Haitian history, you will notice that these are only a few short years after Haiti won it’s independence from France in the slave revolution of 1804. To repel the French from further attack, King Christophe had the “Citadelle Laferrière” built 7km up the mountain. From its walls, which are said to have been constructed with the blood of slaves, one can see for miles in every direction. Approaching ships to the coast would have been spotted with ample time to arm the cannons. Napoleon never did return to take Haiti by military force, and thus the Citadelle is amazingly well preserved. The thousands of lead cannonballs piled strategically on these peaks are a reminder to the costs that Haitians paid for their freedom. Paying homage to this place is an amazingly powerful experience.