Hotel Afrique

A rare glimpse of a fascinating aspect of life in Africa: the elite hotels which serve as an interface between the tribal, religious, social and cultural aspects of Africa and the global uniformity of international business culture. These are places where the unseen resources of Africa - diamonds, oil, minerals - are bartered away behind closed doors. But these are also places the local communities view as symbols of achievement, objects of desire: the dream venue for weddings. With photos by Magnum photographer Franklin and text by writer Sealy.