Wednesday, May 26, 2010

5.21.2010 Milot: Citadelle Laferrière

Dom and I have been hearing about the Citadelle since we arrived in Haiti. We have seen it in street painting but never in person!

Here is a little history for you:

The Citadelle Laferrière is a large mountaintop fortress located in northern Haiti. It is the largest fortress in the Americas and was designated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as a World Heritages site in 1982. The mountaintop fortress has itself become an icon of Haiti. The Citadel was built by Henri Christophe a key leader during the Haitian slave rebellion, after Haiti gained independence from France at the beginning of the 19th century
The massive stone structure was built by up to 20,000 workers between 1805 and 1820 as part of a system of fortifications designed to keep the newly-independent nation of Haiti safe from French incursions. The Citadel was built several miles inland, and atop the 3,000 ft (910 m) Bonnet a L’Eveque mountain, to deter attacks and to provide a lookout into the nearby valleys. Cap-Haïtien and the adjoining Atlantic Ocean are visible from the roof of the fortress. Anecdotally, it is possible to sight the eastern coast of Cuba some 90 miles (140 km) to the west, on clear days.

The Haitians outfitted the fortress with 365 cannons of varying size. Enormous stockpiles of cannonballs still sit in pyramidal stacks at the base of the fortress walls. Since its construction, the fortress has withstood numerous earthquakes, though a French attack never came Henri Christophe initially commissioned the fortress in 1805. At the time, Christophe was a general in the Haitian army and chief administrator of the country's northern regions. In 1806, along with co-conspirator Alexandre Petion, Christophe launched a coup against Haiti's emperor, Jean-Jacques Dessalines. Dessalines's death led to a power struggle between Christophe and Pétion, which ended with Haiti divided into northern and southern compartments, with the north under Christophe's presidency by 1807. He declared himself king in 1811.

Christophe suffered a stroke in 1820, and some of his troops mutinied. Shortly afterwards, he committed suicide, according to legend, by shooting himself with a silver bullet. Loyal followers covered his body in quicklime and entombed it in one of the Citadel's interior courtyards to prevent others from mutilating the corpse.

The day Dom and I went to the citadelle it was completely enveloped in fog or cloud forests as we like to call them here. It made for some interesting photographs as fog is so reflective.


 The walls of the citadel rose out of the fog like shadows. The scale of this place was amazing.




There were cannons everywhere! They were beautiful.







I did not know that the citadel was seriously damaged by an earthquake. But at one point, I flashed by camera flash at the ceiling and almost had a heart attack. There were cracks all the way up the wall for 4 floors. The floors themselves were completely gone. This place was a relic of what the earthquake of 1842 left behind. I have to admit my one thought at that moment was I needed to get out of there pronto!




Later that evening we met a geologist at our hotel. He said his company had done some extensive studies of the area, and they believe that Cap Hatien is due for 9.0 eathquake any day. As I was trying to fall asleep that night, I wondered if Dom and I had seen it just in time. I can't imagine that the building could hold up considering that considerable damage that has been done to it.

For more photos got to the Haiti Gallery at www.crystalinerandazzo.com

© Crystaline Randazzo Photography - All images are copyright of Crystaline Randazzo and in no way are to be used by Google, Google Advertisers or any third party. These are not your pictures. Steal them and I will sue you.



5.21.2010 Milot: Sans-Souci Palace

On our big trip up north, Dom and I made sure to schedule a day to go to the Palace and the Citadel. Here is a little bit of Haitian History.

The Sans-Souci Palace was the royal residence of King Henri Christophe, Queen Marie-Louise and their twin daughters. Construction of the palace started in 1810 and was completed in 1813. It is located in the town of Milot. Its name means "without worry." Crippled by a stroke, King Henri I committed suicide on the grounds of the palace on October 8, 1820. According to Haitian legend, he shot himself with a silver bullet. He was subsequently buried in the Citadelle. His nephew and heir, Jacques-Victor Henry was bayoneted to death by revolutionaries at the Palace on October 18, 1820. A severe earthquake in 1842 destroyed a considerable part of the palace and devastated the nearby city of Cap-Hatien; the palace was never rebuilt. The palace (before its destruction) was acknowledged by many to be the Caribbean equivalent of the Palace of Versailles in France.


Sans-Souci Palace

This should give you some idea of the scale of this place!


Dom picked up a tour guide or two, they were amazed that he spoke Kreyol.


After a quick camera lesson we got a shot together.


See more photos on my website in the Haiti Gallery: www.crystalinephoto.com

© Crystaline Randazzo Photography - All images are copyright of Crystaline Randazzo and in no way are to be used by Google, Google Advertisers or any third party. These are not your pictures. Steal them and I will sue you.


5.19.2010 Just Beachy at Cormier Plage!

Dom and I took our long anticipated vaction trip to Cap Hatien in Haiti. I thought that I had already been to the most beautiful beach in Haiti, but I take it back! Cormier Plage was a beautiful place to stay, the food was delicious, the ocean was beautiful, and the beach was divine.

The beach has always been a source of inspiration for me. There is something about the waves beating on the beach that sets your spirit at ease. I found myself picking up my camera often, and really letting myself be inspired by my surroundings.


The rainy season made a for a perfect back drop for the sea treasures we collected.

I found the the rain changed as a back drop as much as the sea does.

I'm a sucker for reflections.

I enjoyed Iacocca so much that Dom read it too!

Is this a Haitian hydrangea?

I loved the beach themed decor!

Palm trees!



See photo three for explanation!

© Crystaline Randazzo Photography - All images are copyright of Crystaline Randazzo and in no way are to be used by Google, Google Advertisers or any third party. These are not your pictures. Steal them and I will sue you.