Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
March 21, 1999 The first nonstop flight around the world by balloon came to an end in western Egypt. The pilots and sole passengers for this record-setting journey were 41-year-old psychiatrist Bertrand Piccard and 51-year-old English balloonist and former Royal Air Force pilot Brian Jones. They landed the helium-and-hot-air balloon, which was named in honor... Continue Reading →
October 31, 2011 A rapid transit system in Algiers, the largest city and capital of the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria, was inaugurated. This system was officially opened by Abdelaziz Bouteflika (1937-2021), Algeria’s president from 1999 to 2019. The Algiers Metro became the second rapid transit system in Africa to go into service. (The first... Continue Reading →
August 16, 1974 In the Republic of South Africa, Lanseria International Airport in the province of Gauteng was officially opened. This airport is located to the northwest of Johannesburg, the largest city in South Africa. Those taking part in the inauguration of Lanseria International Airport included Hannes Rall, the county’s minister of transport at that... Continue Reading →
August 10, 1905 In a significant leg of her maiden voyage, the twin-screw steamship (TSS) Arahura circled the rocky headland long known as the Cape of Good Hope on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula. (At the time, this section of the present-day Republic of South Africa was the part of the British Empire... Continue Reading →
December 7, 2017 Blaise Diagne International Airport, which is located in the western part of the Republic of Senegal, was formally opened for scheduled flights. This facility replaced Léopold Sédar Senghor International Airport in that region as the main airport for Dakar, the capital and largest city of Senegal. Blaise Diagne International Airport is 27... Continue Reading →
June 7, 2019 The first commercial flight of a newly established airline in Nigeria took place. Ibom Air is operated by the government of Akwa Ibom State in the country’s southeastern region. With the launch of Ibom Air, Akwa Ibom became the first of Nigeria’s 36 states to have its own airline. The plane used... Continue Reading →
June 6, 1933 More than two years after construction on it had begun, a bridge spanning a section of the Nile River in Egypt’s capital city of Cairo was officially opened. This bridge was inaugurated by King Fuad I (1868-1936), who served as ruler of Egypt from 1917 until his death in 1936. (He served... Continue Reading →
April 12, 2010 King Mohammed VI of Morocco inaugurated the construction of a major highway in that North African country. This highway, which is officially designated as A4 motorway, was completed in 2015. Based in the northern section of Morocco, A4 motorway covers 107 miles (173 kilometers) between the town and municipality of Berrechid in... Continue Reading →
January 4, 2005 A newly renovated railway station in the Moroccan city of Casablanca was officially reopened. This station, which dates back to 1912, is located in Casablanca’s quartier (neighborhood) of Oasis. The year-long refurbishment of the Oasis (or Casa-Oasis) railway station was carried out by ONCF, a state-owned company that is managed by Morocco’s... Continue Reading →
October 12, 2014 Construction began on the Kazungula Bridge between the Republic of Zambia and the Republic of Botswana in the southern region of Africa. The Kazungula Bridge carries vehicular, rail, and pedestrian traffic over the Zambezi River, which is the fourth longest river in Africa and the largest river flowing into the Indian Ocean... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 