Bekopaka

Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar (Malagasy: Repoblikan'i Madagasikara [republiˈkʲan madaɡasˈkʲarə̥]; French: République de Madagascar) and previously known as the Malagasy Republic, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, off the southeastern coast of Africa. The nation comprises the island of Madagascar (the fourth-largest island in the world), as well as numerous smaller peripheral islands. Following the prehistoric breakup of the supercontinent Gondwana, Madagascar split from India around 88 million years ago, allowing native plants and animals to evolve in relative isolation. Consequently, Madagascar is a biodiversity hotspot; over 90 percent of its wildlife is found nowhere else on Earth. The island's diverse ecosystems and unique wildlife are threatened by the encroachment of the rapidly growing human population.

Initial human settlement of Madagascar occurred between 350 BCE and 550 CE by Austronesian peoples arriving on outrigger canoes from Borneo. These were joined around 1000 CE by Bantu migrants crossing the Mozambique Channel. Other groups continued to settle on Madagascar over time, each one making lasting contributions to Malagasy cultural life. The Malagasy ethnic group is often divided into eighteen or more sub-groups of which the largest are the Merina of the central highlands.

Menabe is a region in western Madagascar. It is named for the 18th century Sakalava kingdom of Menabe. The capital is Morondava.

Menabe is the southern part of the Sakalava territory. Tradition holds that it was founded by Adriamandazoala (reigned c1540 - 1560). Its territory was increased under the legendary Andriandahifotsy (c1610 - 1685). It thus became the strongest kingdom in Madagascar until the mid 18th century. Among its most famous rulers was Ranaimo or Andriandrainarivo (ruled 1718-1727) who is known through the memoirs of Europeans such as Robert Drury, James Cook, Barnvelt (1719), Valentyn (1726). Though handsome and imposing he was a paralytic.

Radama I would conduct three ravaging campaigns in the kingdom of Menabe in 1820, in 1821 and finally in 1822. Finally, Ramitraho king of Menabe at the time, sued for peace by giving his daughter Rasalimo to Radama as his wife. But peace would not follow until Rasalimo offered another peace treaty in 1827. Unfortunately Radama died before negotiations could finish.

Eventually the Merina conquered and subjugated the southern Menabe territories in 1834 right after Ramitraho's death. Constant war would ensue culminating with a Merina victory in 1846. Queen Ranavalona I then garrisoned major Menabe towns and sent farmers to colonize the area. Menabe rulers were allowed to keep their authority but under the local Merina governor. The northern Menabe largely escaped Merina authority and stayed independent despite the fact that they no longer posed any threat to the monarchy in Antananarivo.

A raft is any flat structure for support or transportation over water. It is the most basic of boat design, characterized by the absence of a hull. Although there are cross-over boat types that blur this definition, rafts are usually kept afloat by using any combination of buoyant materials such as wood, sealed barrels, or inflated air chambers (such as pontoons), and are typically not propelled by an engine.

Travel photography is a subcategory of photography involving the documentation of an area's landscape, people, cultures, customs and history. The Photographic Society of America defines a travel photo as an image that expresses the feeling of a time and place, portrays a land, its people, or a culture in its natural state, and has no geographical limitations.

Travel photography can either be created by professionals or amateurs. Examples of professional travel photography can be found in the National Geographic magazine. Amateur travel photography is often shared online through photo sharing websites like Flickr or niche travel photography websites such as TrekEarth.

Travel photography dates from the 1850s. Early practitioners include Francis Bedford, George Bridges, Maxime Du Camp, Solomon Nunes Carvalho, Francis Frith and James Ricalton.