Yes, MLK Boulevard is in Dakar, Senegal
My first walk through the streets of Dakar for DAK’ART 2014 was intense. I assume most urbanism over some threshold of population density is intense like this. I was overwhelmed by it and pulled into it. I kept walking through the cacophony thinking there would be a main street with some huge Boulevard opening out into space where I could orient myself. Apart from the beaches (many of them rocky instead of sandy), there were almost no wide open spaces. One of the best was the university named after Cheikh Anta Drop. I got there by walking northward, along MLK Boulevard. It was noticeably difficult to know which street is which according to its name on a map. I talked with several officers and drivers and none of them knew the streets by these names. The most knowledgeable map readers were one working in a bookstore and another in a computer store. Most of the locals I decided to reach out to, just knew where they wanted to go spatially, outside of map literacy.
My subsequent walks through Dakar were ‘escorted’ by friendly young brothers that will eventually take me where I need to go (on foot like most local people). It is important to remember that most people in Dakar are self-governed by conservative Islamic values so (for the moment) it is clear that these youth have been motivated by my efforts to show respect, my time-agnostic attitude and the money I might spend on a street vendor they know or an item in their backpack. The ‘challenge’ for me going forward is letting them know there is not much more I can buy (after about 175 000 CFA, pronounced “cee-fah”) and I am getting better at finding my way around.
My first ‘escort’ is/was a Fulani man that is very rough around the edges, but a handful of people around town still show him respect. My second ‘escort’ has been a younger more cultured man that is a mix of Wolof and he says Fulani (this Fulani thing is important because many folks agree that I look Fulani). His name is Tafsir Diop and many, many people greet him with cheer around Dakar.
Now some pointers and remarks: it is important to remember that prices in Dakar compete with western prices (so dinner can cost 20 000 CFA); the traffic in Dakar can be frightening so taxis may be the only way; I only saw two cyclists in Dakar so far---one had a car right on his tail; I don’t recommend taking pictures of people leading their lives, like a mother combing her daughter’s hair on a street corner or a man attending to his prayers on a rug on a sidewalk---just my opinion; I ordered an international data plan from AT&T only to find it does not work on Windows phone; I download city maps with hotel WiFi to my phone; my local mobile service is Orange Senegal but I don’t use it.