Lightning Shalom. The story of the Mossad's most successful hostage rescue operation. About the city of Entebbe Who is most influenced by the Sun

About the city of Entebbe

Entebbe (Entebbe) - a city in the southeast Uganda, 35 km from the capital Kampala. Entebbe is located on the shores of Africa's largest lake, Lake Victoria. Population 70,200 people. (2008). Like Kampala, Entebbe was founded as an outpost only in 1893. From next year, 1894, new locality received the status of the administrative center of the British colony of Uganda.

Kampala was also formally considered the capital, since government offices were located in both cities. But in addition to its administrative function, Entebbe served as a prestigious suburb of Kampala, where employees preferred to settle. And now most of the city is occupied by residential areas, inhabited mainly by employees of government organizations. The name is translated from the Lugandan dialect as “place”. This is due to the fact that immediately after the founding of the city, the court was moved here, that is, literally it was the “place of court.”

Opening international airport near Entebbe in 1947 contributed to the development of the city as the country's main transport hub. And now significant volumes of goods that are transported to East Africa pass through the airport. In addition, cargo transshipment through Entebbe is also carried out through the shipping company on Lake Victoria - to Kenya and Tanzania. After independence from Great Britain in 1962, Kampala remained the capital, and Entebbe became a business center. There is no industry here, only the offices of enterprises selling cotton, coffee and bananas.

Tourists visit Entebbe mainly on day tours from Kampala. The city is small: there are significantly fewer attractions and entertainment venues here than in the capital. In Entebbe, you can see a collection of plants in the botanical garden, founded more than a hundred years ago. In addition, staying in the garden will be interesting for those who want to observe the life of wild birds. Near the city pier there is a small zoo at the Wildlife Education Center, where monkeys, antelopes and other representatives of the local fauna are kept. Following the example of local residents, tourists have picnics on the shores of Lake Victoria (just a few kilometers from the city center). However, tourists are not recommended to swim in the lake due to the high risk of contracting an infection.

Entebbe has a humid and hot tropical climate. It is quite hot +33...+35C from September to the end of February. The rainy season begins in March and ends by June. May is the wettest month and at the same time the coolest. From May to the end of August the most favorable (cool season) continues; the air temperature ranges from +20 to +24C, sometimes dropping to +15C.

Uganda telephone code: +256,Entebbe area code: 42.

To travel around the city, you can use boda-bodas (scooter taxis) and matatu minibuses. Both types of transport are inconvenient, but relatively cheap. Regular taxis are more expensive, but safer and more comfortable. On ferries you can take a short walk to the islands on the lake (about 5 km from the shore).

International Airport ( Entebbe International Airport) is located approximately 4 km from the city center. Uganda Civil Aviation Authority website - http://www.caa.co.ug/

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40 years ago, on July 5, 1976, 102 of the 106 hostages taken a week earlier on board an Air France flight from Tel Aviv to Paris returned safely to Israel. The terrorists managed to hijack the plane to Uganda, far from Israel and Europe, where a friendly dictator, Idi Amin, ruled. But this did not stop the Israelis from planning and brilliantly carrying out a swift anti-terrorist operation.

Editor LJ Media

Israeli military journalist, historian:

On July 4, 1976, in an operation unprecedented in its courage, Israeli paratroopers freed more than a hundred hostages who were captured after the hijacking of an Air France plane by Palestinian terrorists.

The details of Operation Thunderball were first told by one of the main participants in those events - the commander of the squadron of Israeli C-130 Hercules transport aircraft, then lieutenant colonel and now retired Air Force General Yehoshua Shani.

On June 27, 1976, an Air France passenger plane was flying from France to Israel and was hijacked by Palestinian terrorists and their German accomplices. On pain of death, the terrorists forced the French pilots to land in the remote Central African country of Uganda, whose president openly supported Palestinian terror.

The crew of the plane was forced by terrorists to land at Entebbe airport near the capital of Uganda, Kampala. The passengers and crew of the hijacked plane were held by terrorists and soldiers of the Ugandan army in the old airport building.

On June 29, following the example of the Nazis, Palestinian terrorists carried out “filtration” - they separated 83 hostages with Israeli passports and Jewish citizens of other countries from non-Jewish passengers of the hijacked plane. Non-Jewish passengers were released. The French crew of the plane, led by the ship's commander, decided to remain with the hostages and share the fate of their passengers until the end. A total of 105 hostages remained - Israeli citizens, Jewish citizens of other states and crew members. The terrorists threatened to kill the hostages.

Despite the absolute confidence of foreign experts who believed that no state had a chance to save the hostages, the Israeli leadership decided to conduct a force operation to free the hostages, called Thunderball. Operation Thunderball began on July 4, 1976

A squadron of four C-130 Hercules transport aircraft with paratroopers on board took off from an airbase on the Sinai Peninsula. The goal of the Israeli pilots was the Ugandan airport of Entebbe, to which they had to overcome 4,000 kilometers.

National Geographic documentary about the Entebbe operation

During the seven and a half hour flight, the squadron's aircraft flew in tight formation, at extremely low altitudes, in complete radio silence, in the absence of air traffic control support from the ground. Israeli pilots made an incredibly risky landing at an enemy airport, virtually blind, on a runway surrounded by enemy soldiers.

The release of the hostages occurred almost instantly: only a few minutes passed from the moment the first shot was fired until all 6 terrorists and 45 Ugandan soldiers guarding the hostages were eliminated. After the hostages were freed, a special Air Force detachment destroyed eight enemy MiG-17 fighter planes and a radar tower at the airfield for fear of possible persecution. An hour after the start of the operation, the first plane with hostages took off for Nairobi to refuel, and 42 minutes later the last Israeli plane left Uganda. The heroic pilots and paratroopers, along with the freed hostages, had a triumphant meeting in Israel.

The whole world received with delight the news of the success of the unprecedentedly courageous operation of Israeli commandos to free the hostages in Entebbe. Only the USSR and its “Arab brothers” vehemently condemned Israel’s victory. Under pressure from the Russians, the UN adopted a resolution in which Israel was once again condemned “for blatant aggression.”

On July 5 of this year, the details of Operation Ball Lightning were first spoken about in an interview with the IDF press service by one of the main participants in those events - the commander of a squadron of Israeli C-130 Hercules transport aircraft, then a lieutenant colonel and now a retired Air Force general, Yehoshua Shani.

Tell us a little about your family

My parents lived in what is now Ukraine. Their small town was part of Poland at that time. With the arrival of the Nazis, the Ukrainians killed all the Jews living there. My parents were lucky - they fled from the Nazis and ended up in Siberia, where I was born in 1945. Wherever we were - in Poland, Ukraine, Russia - everywhere we were refugees and hated strangers.

Shortly after the end of the war, our family ended up in the Bergen-Belsen displaced persons camp in Germany. We were there for almost a year. Then we, together with thousands of Jewish Holocaust survivors, made the difficult journey from Germany to Israel.

My parents were Zionists and spoke fluent Hebrew, which they used to communicate with me as a child. They were very happy to come to Israel and start new life so as never again to suffer the fate of refugees and strangers among enemies.

Have you always wanted to be a pilot?

No, actually. As a teenager, I had no interest in airplanes, but wanted to be an electrical engineer. Everything changed the day I was drafted into the army. I and several other recruits were lying on the grass at the recruiting station when a military man unexpectedly approached us, on whose uniform we saw the silver wings of a pilot. He said, “You have all passed your flying school checks. Who here doesn’t want to volunteer to become a pilot?”

I started to raise my hand, but halfway through I realized that no one around me was raising their hand. So I put my hand down too. The rest is history.

What were you doing when you first joined the Israeli Air Force?

I was drafted in 1963. I received my silver pilot wings in 1965 from the hands of General Ezer Weizmann, who was then commander of the Israeli Air Force. The first plane I started flying on was the Nord Noratlas transport plane. I was also a Fuga flight instructor for two years. The Air Force then sent me to the United States, where I trained as a C-130 Hercules cargo pilot. I was first stationed at Little Rock, Arkansas, and then North Carolina. This was my first visit to the USA.

You were on active duty during Israel's major wars. How did you take part in these wars?

In 1967, during the Six-Day War, I flew my plane to deliver fuel and ammunition to IDF soldiers fighting in the Sinai Peninsula.

In 1973, during the Yom Kippur War, I was a squadron commander. He flew reconnaissance and combat missions on a C-97 Stratofreighter. I flew a C-130 Hercules through the Suez Canal, deep into Egyptian territory, to supply fuel and ammunition to the ground forces advancing into the territory west of the canal. Those forces, by the way, were led by Ariel Sharon.

How did the crisis in Entebbe begin for you?

On June 27, 1976, terrorists hijacked an Air France passenger plane flying from Tel Aviv to Paris. The plane was hijacked by terrorists during a stopover in Athens and hijacked by them to Entebbe, Uganda. Two of the hijackers were members of the German left-wing organization Baader-Meinhof, and two were from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. They demanded the release of 53 terrorists imprisoned in Israel.

On the third day of the crisis, terrorists separated Israeli and Jewish passengers from others. The kidnappers freed the non-Jews and sent them to France. While the rest of the world chattered and did nothing, the IDF was planning a rescue mission in complete secrecy.

How did you first find out that you were going to take part in a hostage rescue operation?

I was at a wedding when the commander of the Israeli Air Force, Major General Benny Peled, approached me and began asking questions about the capabilities of the C-130. It was a strange situation - the Air Force commander, a major general, was asking a lieutenant colonel about the plane. But the C-130 was a new aircraft, and the Air Force command had always been focused on fighters, not transport aircraft. Peled asked me if there was a flight to Entebbe, how long would it take and how much cargo could the C-130 carry? From this conversation I was left with the impression that a rescue operation, impossible under the given conditions, was on the agenda.

How did the operation begin?

We started our flight from the airbase to Sharm el-Sheikh in the Sinai, which at that time was under Israeli control. The takeoff from Sharm was one of the most difficult in the history of not only my flying experience, but also that of the plane itself. I had no idea what would happen during takeoff and landing - the plane was overloaded, contrary to all the rules and instructions for piloting.

On board my plane are soldiers of the Sayeret Matkal special forces, led by their commander, Lieutenant Colonel Yonatan Netanyahu. A Mercedes car was also loaded there, which was to mislead the Ugandan soldiers at the airport, since Idi Amin, the dictator of Uganda, had the same car. In addition, Land Rovers were loaded onto my plane, in which the paratroopers were to operate.

I gave the command to take off, and the overloaded plane took off heavily from the ground at the very end of the runway. I headed north, but then turned south, where our target was. The overloaded plane was difficult to control; I literally held it in my arms until it reached more than high speed. I just tried my best to keep the plane under control - you know, the plane has feelings, and everything turned out well.

The distance to Entebbe is over 2,500 miles (4,000 km). How did you do that?

We had to fly in close proximity to Saudi Arabia and Egypt, in the Gulf of Suez. We were not afraid to violate the airspace of these countries - the flight took place along the route of international flights. The problem was that they could detect us with their radars.

Therefore, we flew very low - at an altitude of only 100 meters above the water, in a group of four aircraft. The main hope was for the effect of surprise - after all, the enemy only had to block the runway with one truck, and then the whole operation would have ended in disaster. So, saving the operation in complete secret was critical to success.

In some places, which are especially dangerous, we were flying at an altitude of 35 feet. I remember reading the altimeter. Believe me, it's scary! In this situation you cannot fly in close formation. During the flight, I, as a squadron commander, did not know whether there were still planes 2, 3 and 4 following me, because we were flying in complete radio silence.

In the C-130, you can't see what's going on behind you. Fortunately, the pilots of the other aircraft in the squadron were very experienced pilots - so from time to time they left the general formation so that I could see them, and then returned to their place as part of the group. This is how I found out that the planes continued to follow me.

What were you thinking as you landed blindly on the Entebbe airstrip, surrounded by enemy soldiers?

What I feared most was not the rocket and artillery fire from the ground; it was the feeling of responsibility for the assigned task that weighed on me, since my mistake as the pilot of an overloaded cargo plane could jeopardize the success of the entire operation. Think about it - how many of our people would have died at Entebbe if I had been wrong?

In case something went wrong, I was prepared for the worst. I was wearing a helmet, body armor, and had an Uzi machine gun. I also received a thick wad of cash in case I had to get out of Uganda after the disaster. Luckily, I never had to use this money. I returned the cash after returning to Israel.

What happened after you landed?

I stopped in the middle of the runway, a group of paratroopers jumped out of the side doors and marked the runway with flashlights so that the other planes following me could land. The paratroopers stormed the control tower. Mercedes and Land Rover came out the back door of my plane and commandos attacked the terminal building where the hostages were being held. At this time, Lieutenant Colonel Yonatan Netanyahu, commander of the Sayeret Matkal, who led the assault, was mortally wounded by fire from Ugandan soldiers.

After the hostages were freed, what were your next actions?

We had a small problem: we needed fuel to fly home. We were flying with a one-way ticket! We were planning several refueling options, and I learned from the operation command that there was a refueling option in Nairobi, Kenya.

50 minutes after landing in Entebbe, I gave the order to the commanders of the aircraft of my squadron: “Everyone who is ready, take off!” I remember with what pleasure I saw plane No. 4 with hostages on board take off from Entebbe - its silhouette melted into the darkness of the night. That's when I realized we had won.

That's all. We did it. The mission was a success.

How were you received in Israel?

The plane carrying the hostages landed at Ben Gurion Airport, where they met with their families. The remaining three planes landed at military airfields.

Yitzhak Rabin, the Prime Minister of Israel, came up to me. I didn't take my uniform off for 24 hours straight, in temperatures over 50 degrees on the plane, so I was dirty and smelly. And here the Prime Minister comes to meet you with open arms. I said - please don't hug me - you might die from it! He, however, hugged me and only said, “Thank you.”

What was it like returning to Israel as a hero?

After my father's death, I discovered his letters from Bergen-Belsen, which he sent to Kibbutz Mishmar HaEmek. In them, the father talks about what he experienced during the Holocaust, what happened to his family, etc. I won't discuss it here. One of his letters says: “My only hope and joy is my Yehoshua. He gives me reasons to continue living.”

I mention this letter because 30 years later, when I returned from Entebbe, my father threw a party for me. Family and friends were there to celebrate the success of our mission. My father was in a great mood. I know what he thought as a Holocaust survivor. His son was a lieutenant colonel in the Israeli Air Force at the time and had just flown thousands of kilometers to save Jews. This probably added ten years to his life.

Do you maintain contact with other participants in the operation?

Well, as you probably know, many of them are in the highest echelons of government today. Ehud Barak, the Minister of Defense, was a lieutenant colonel at the time, like me. He was on the operation planning team, and I was the chief pilot. We consulted with each other then, and I see him often these days.

Shaul Mofaz, the newly appointed Deputy Prime Minister, led the destruction of MiG fighters on the ground at Entebbe airport so that our rescue forces could leave Uganda unhindered.

Matan Vilnai was in the cabin with me. Ephraim Sne was on the plane as a doctor. Dan Shomron died several years ago - he was one of the leaders of the entire operation. And, of course, Yoni's brother, Benjamin Netanyahu, is prime minister. I first met him in the early 1980s when he was Deputy Chief of Mission at the Israeli Embassy in Washington, DC.

How did your career develop after Entebbe?

I continued to serve in the Air Force - over 30 years, in fact. I have 13,000 flight hours, including 7,000 hours as a C-130 pilot. Over the years I commanded three squadrons and a mixed air group of four squadrons and eight ground units.

From 1985 to 1988, I was an Air Force Attache at the Israeli Embassy in Washington, DC. I retired from active duty in 1989 with the rank of Brigadier General. For ten years after that I was in the reserves. Today I am the vice president of Lockheed Martin, responsible for projects in Israel. I was once a recruit and didn't think about the Air Force, which became my life's work - when you're young, you never know how things will turn out.

in the community:

During the assault, the commander of the special forces of the General Staff of the Israeli Army, Lieutenant Colonel Yoni Netanyahu, the brother of the current Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu, was killed. Since then, the operation has been secretly named in his honor - “Operation Yonatan.”

"Note to the Prime Minister"

In the mid-1970s, Israel was in the midst of an ongoing war against terror. The country's intelligence services were constantly hunting for activists of various Palestinian organizations, including those who were involved in the murder of Israeli athletes at the Olympic Games in Munich.

The attack on an Air France plane became another link in this chain. For many years it was believed that in the first days after the takeover, the Israeli government tried to find a diplomatic solution to the problem and, according to many historians, was even ready to make concessions and release Palestinian prisoners from prison.

However, 39 years later, declassified documents indicate that this was just a diversionary maneuver, the success of which few in the Israeli leadership hoped for. From the first day of the takeover, then-Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Defense Minister Shimon Peres firmly believed in the need for a military operation.

From Peres' note to Rabin:

“We are closing all operational details. Along with the SUVs in which the soldiers will drive up to the terminal, it is proposed to take a Mercedes, similar to the car of Amin (ruler of Uganda). Let's add checkboxes to it. Amin should just return to the airport from Mauritius, everything should work out in time.”

Rabin's response to Peres:

“Do we know when Amin will return exactly? Are you sure this is a Mercedes? How does the operation begin, and what are the overall chances of success?

Perez responds:

“How does the operation begin? Point one - they say that this is impossible. Point two - the chosen time is not suitable. Point three - the government will not approve of it. Of all the things I can see for sure, and I still have vision, is how this operation will end.”

On the occasion of the publication of the archives, Shimon Peres said in an interview with the Maariv newspaper that the decision-making process to launch a military operation was very difficult:

“When I voiced the military option and proposed sending our special forces to Uganda, many considered me an irresponsible minister,” Perez recalls. “I never blamed them, because they, like me, clearly understood what would happen if, in addition to the hostages, we also lost a hundred of our best fighters.”

Among the opponents of such a daring operation was the then Chief of the General Staff, Mordechai (Mota) Gur. He expressed his assessment in a personal conversation with Perez. In his opinion, the Hercules transport planes, on which the special forces were supposed to be sent, could not fly from Israel to Uganda without refueling. However, having received the order to prepare for the assault, he had no choice but to obey. The solution for "Hercules" was found. Israel has agreed with the authorities of neighboring Kenya to provide the airspace of this country and the airport in Nairobi for the subsequent evacuation of the hostages. Direct leadership of the operation was entrusted to General Yekutiel Adam. He was on a plane circling over Entebbe airport. Another plane was equipped as a flying hospital.

Historical diary

For the first time, the so-called operational diary of the operation became public. Using his notes, it is possible to reconstruct the entire process of making a decision on the release of hostages in detail. True, some fragments still remain secret. Experts say that this is due to the working methods of Israeli special forces, which are used in the Israeli army even today, many years later. A few hours before flying to Uganda, Perez gathered in his office the army leadership and some of the officers participating in the upcoming assault. According to Peres, the commander of the air force, Benny Peled, asked him what the Israeli political leadership was counting on - to capture only the airport or all of Uganda? “Peled said that a hundred soldiers were enough to storm the airport, but at least a thousand were needed to capture the whole of Uganda,” Perez recalls. “I said that the second option is not even being considered, and the main goal is to return the hostages home.”

From declassified records of operational details:

“Time 16:15: the first plane is on its way. We are waiting for the second group”/

“Time 16:18: departure delayed by 10 minutes, the group arrived in military uniform, we need to change them into civilian clothes.”

“Time 16:30: the second plane took off.”

"Time 22:30: First plane lands in Nairobi."

"Time 23:18: The plane landed at Entebbe."

“Time 23:48: There is silence at Entebbe airport - hostages and wounded are being taken to one of the planes. Preparations are underway for departure to Nairobi.”

“Time 23:51: There are dead among the hostages, one of the soldiers is seriously wounded. It is not yet clear whether the special forces were able to destroy the MIGs of the Ugandan Air Force.”

“Time 02:00: All aircraft landed safely in Nairobi for refueling. Israel is preparing to welcome the planes.”

Closer to noon, Idi Amin again honors the hostages with a visit. He is kept company by his young son, who is wearing exactly the same dress uniform as his father. Amin delivers the bad news: Israel has still not given a definite answer regarding the hostage exchange. But Amin also has “good” news in store: the ultimatum has been extended until 11 a.m. Sunday.

The rest of the day passes without much incident - for all but four hostages, who are taken in turn by the terrorists to a separate room, where they are intimidated and threatened. The hostages are then returned in an orderly manner to the main hall of the airport, where the French had recently been.

The toilet is clogged and stinks. The radio is working. The evening news reported that Israel had agreed to the kidnappers' terms. The hostages are crying, hugging and preparing to return home soon.

It was decided to call the operation “Ball Lightning”. Israeli Air Force Commander Benjamin Peled briefs the Prime Minister on the details.

Two Israeli Air Force Boeing 707s, repainted in El Al colors, will fly the usual commercial route to the only friendly country in the region, Kenya. They will be equipped with field hospitals. As soon as the Boeings land in Nairobi, four Hercules will take off from the base, which, in addition to hundreds of paratroopers, will accommodate half-track all-terrain vehicles and heavy machine guns. As soon as the Hercules leave Israeli airspace, they will descend and fly below the radar coverage.

Yes sir! - the Air Force commander says.

1st day, Friday

Entebbe Airport, Uganda

On the night from Thursday to Friday, only children sleep in the airport hall. The adult hostages talk quietly, discussing their return. No one believes that the nightmare that lasted almost a week is coming to an end. And indeed, this is not the end. At seven in the morning, a black Mercedes already familiar to the hostages drives up to the airport. This time Amin arrived not only with his son, but also with his last wife - a black beauty in a wide green dress.

We will find the same Mercedes as Amin’s and put our guys in it. Basically, we can make an effigy of Amin

The President reports that Israel refused to meet the terrorists halfway and facilitate the speedy release of its people. Amin recommends that the hostages write an open letter to their government asking them to satisfy the demands of the kidnappers. Leaving the stunned hostages to argue about whether to write a letter or not, Amin leaves the airport building with dignity.

Prime Minister's Office, Israel

Again! Once again, I said it! Faster Faster!

A group of paratroopers led by 30-year-old Lt. Col. Yonatan Netanyahu, a Harvard graduate and brother of the future Prime Minister of Israel, runs back to the training Hercules. Ideally, a hostage rescue operation should take no more than 55 minutes. While the paratroopers are far from ideal, which gives Dan Shomron the right to urge them on with a shout. But there's a whole night of training ahead. The commandos will be able to get some sleep during the upcoming seven-hour flight to Uganda.

The Hercules pilots don’t rest either. They practice a sharp climb, as well as landing directly on the ground - in case Ugandan soldiers notice the planes and block the landing strip. The Chief of the General Staff of the Israeli Defense Forces, Mordechai Gur, is sitting on one of the planes. Being inside a 70-ton machine, which either soars up or flies down like a stone, Gur feels, to put it mildly, uncomfortable. But now he knows that he can confidently report to the Prime Minister: “Everything is ready.”

1st day, Saturday

On Saturday afternoon, two El Al Boeing 707s, flying a commercial route from Tel Aviv, land one after another at Nairobi Airport. Exactly 20 minutes later, four giant Hercules take off from an Israeli military base.

Only 15 minutes after takeoff, the cabinet of ministers officially gives the go-ahead for the operation: the command “Zanek!” is heard on the military radio. ("Takeoff!"). The connection is then terminated to maintain secrecy. Pilots will have to fly the planes for seven hours, relying only on the radar antenna. Flying high above the Hercules are phantom fighters, each equipped with a device to interfere with enemy radar. They will accompany the Hercules to Ethiopia. The bulk of the soldiers are in the first plane, in which it becomes difficult to breathe soon after takeoff. Some of the soldiers settle down in jeeps, others take a nap near all-terrain vehicles. It will be especially hard for the soldiers who will pretend to be Ugandans in Amin’s fake Mercedes. They had their faces and hands painted with makeup borrowed from a Tel Aviv theater, and now the “Ugandans” are sweating more than others, crammed into a luxury car.

Uganda: on both sides of the equator

This country in East Africa is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the youngest in the world. Thanks to the usual large number of children here, the average age of its population is about 15 years. In general, there are a lot of interesting things to tell about. There are several kingdoms on its territory, and not so long ago a local dictator, who adored titles, declared himself king... of Scotland.

The country is crossed by the equator, but the tops of its mountains are covered with snow. 15 percent of the area is occupied by inland waters. This is much more than, for example, Finland, which is called the “land of thousands of lakes” and which has access to the sea. Of course, there are fewer lakes, but among them there are...

Royal Lake

In the summer of 1858, the English officer John Speke (by the way, a participant in the Crimean War) made his way through the savannah forests of East Africa. The goal was to discover the sources of the great African river Nile. The expedition was difficult: the guides tried to steal something and run away, and were plagued by tropical illnesses. Speke lost his hearing for some time, and then his sight. But on July 30, all the ordeals receded into the background. An endless expanse of water, stretching to the horizon, opened before the travelers. The natives explained that this was Lake Nyanza. A survey of the local population allowed the British to conclude: the Nile flows from this huge reservoir. Speke patriotically named the lake after the reigning British Queen Victoria.

In terms of size, it is the largest freshwater lake in Africa and the second largest in the world. Its area could easily accommodate the entire Republic of Tatarstan. Geologists say that the lake was born not so long ago - about 400 thousand years ago. Then the local region was shaken by real catastrophes - gigantic cracks ran along the earth's surface, volcanoes erupted, new mountain ranges grew. Frozen lava flows and mountains blocked the former path of the rivers. In search of new channels, some of them carried streams into a depression that subsided in the ring of mountains. And so Lake Victoria was born.

Saddle-billed jabiru, Uganda. Photo by Luz Montero Espuela.

Since then it has dried out three times. Now it is no longer fed so much by rivers as by rain streams flowing down from the mountains during the “wet season.” In the water and on the shores, special ecosystems of plants and animals have developed here, surprising scientists.

For example, an unusual protoptera fish lives in the lake, looking like a thick two-meter mustachioed snake. It is surprising, first of all, because, unlike all other fish, it breathes not only with gills, but also... with lungs. From time to time, the protopter, wriggling, floats up, takes a breath of atmospheric air and dives again. This allows it to survive when there is a lack of oxygen in the water. And this happens in Victoria during the dry seasons. To save energy on ascents, protopters avoid great depths (and they reach 80 meters in the lake). True, another threat arises - local drying out of some part of the reservoir. But the protopter found a way out: it buries itself in the ground, hibernates and is not afraid of any drought. And when the rainy season comes, the water again covers the dry petrified silt, and the protopter comes to life as if nothing had happened. Until the next drought. Zoologists have found that he can sleep without waking up for up to four years!

Among coastal animals, the sitatunga aquatic antelope, a little larger in size than a domestic goat, attracts attention. Competition with stronger and larger ungulates pushed the sitatunga to the shores. Its low body weight plus long, widely spaced hooves allow it to run through the quagmire of marshy areas. Without fear, entering the water up to their bellies, sitatunga graze in thickets of algae, sedges and reeds. And to escape from blood-sucking insects and predators, they dive so that only their nose and eyes remain above the water. For the most dangerous predator - man, the aquatic antelope becomes easy prey. As a result, the species was included in the International Red Book. A reserve has been created on the uninhabited islands of Lake Victoria specifically to protect these animals.

Of the five hundred species of fish that live in the lake, three hundred are not found anywhere else in the world. People come here to see the animals that are called the hallmark of Africa - crocodiles, lions, hippos, giraffes, elephants, rhinoceroses, porcupines, monkeys, pythons... What can I say, even the coat of arms depicts representatives of its fauna - the crowned crane and antelope, and the flag - still the same handsome crane

Watussi, . Photo by syaolyao cska.​

Banana republic

This is what we mockingly call small Latin American countries that are completely dependent on the export of one or two agricultural crops. But the real banana republic, without any hints, is Uganda. In Russia, a little more than 7 kg of bananas per capita are eaten per year, in Ecuador - ten times more. And it confidently occupies first place in the world - here the “capita of the population” consumes 450 (!) kg of bananas per year. They eat them here almost every day. In the language of the Ganda people, the largest in this country, banana and food are referred to in one word - "matoke".

In Ugandan markets they are often bought not in pieces, not in bunches, but in whole trunks of fifteen to twenty kilograms. Over 50 varieties of this plant are grown. Some are suitable for frying, others are eaten raw for dessert. Bananas of especially sweet varieties are bought as gifts for children. And ordinary everyday food is prepared from unripe bananas with green peel, tightly attached to the pulp. They are harsh, have an astringent taste and are edible without cooking unless you are very hungry. Such bananas are peeled with a knife, wrapped in banana leaves and steamed, maintaining low heat. After a couple of hours, without unwrapping, rub it with your hands. The result is matoke - a yellow, soft puree that smells like potatoes. This is a side dish for meat, fish or a separate dish, seasoned with nuts and something spicy and spicy. They eat it with their hands. Matoke made from five bananas is considered a completely normal lunch among poor Ugandans. Moreover, to prepare it you just need to go with a knife to the banana that grows behind the house.

You can taste banana juice, beer, and wine. Dried banana leaves are used to weave baskets, bags, rugs, egg containers, and construct rain shelters. They wrap large dense green leaves around the head, preparing to carry basins, bales and other loads on it.

And the most interesting thing is that bananas once did not grow at all in Uganda. They were brought here by the British from India, which today ranks first in the world in banana production. So, y is the second! Look at the size of these two countries on the map and, as they say, feel the difference.