![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Neto Mausoleum
Dec. 14th, 2014 11:50 pmOur next stop was to the Augostinho Neto Mausoleum. It is a tall rocket ship looking spire above a three story granite building. In front of the building is a wide avenue with reviewing stands. From the top of the steps you can view a huge park area
Agostinho Neto (September 17, 1922 -September 10, 1979) was a physician and the first president of Angola (1975-1979), a poet and nationalist leader. Neto died in 1979 just before his 57th birthday in a hospital in Moscow, while undergoing surgery for cancer. The current president, José Eduardo dos Santos, succeeded him as President and has ruled ever since. His daughter Isabel dos Santos is an Angolan investor. and is considered by Forbes to be the richest woman in Africa
This Mausoleum with a 120 foot spire meant to look like a space ship was finally completed in 2005 with the cost rumored to be 1 billion dollars. It has a rotunda with the cremated remains of Neto placed on a huge square of granite supported by legs above a circle of granite which was covered with flowers. The curved hall contains statues and pictures of the man.
There is an elevator to take visitors to the terrace of the third floor where the National Assembly building and gardens can be seen from the balconies. There are two exhibition halls attached to the building and in front are reviewing stands.
I had my picture taken with an Ibex statue. It seems that the idea of art projects like they did in the US with cow had been recreated in Angola with Ibex. There is a stone statue of an Elephant breaking its bonds facing the stairs. In one corner of the park is a 50 foot statue of Neto in front of an archway. It is an impressive site but very expensive for a country with so much riches and so much poverty.
Agostinho Neto (September 17, 1922 -September 10, 1979) was a physician and the first president of Angola (1975-1979), a poet and nationalist leader. Neto died in 1979 just before his 57th birthday in a hospital in Moscow, while undergoing surgery for cancer. The current president, José Eduardo dos Santos, succeeded him as President and has ruled ever since. His daughter Isabel dos Santos is an Angolan investor. and is considered by Forbes to be the richest woman in Africa
This Mausoleum with a 120 foot spire meant to look like a space ship was finally completed in 2005 with the cost rumored to be 1 billion dollars. It has a rotunda with the cremated remains of Neto placed on a huge square of granite supported by legs above a circle of granite which was covered with flowers. The curved hall contains statues and pictures of the man.
There is an elevator to take visitors to the terrace of the third floor where the National Assembly building and gardens can be seen from the balconies. There are two exhibition halls attached to the building and in front are reviewing stands.
I had my picture taken with an Ibex statue. It seems that the idea of art projects like they did in the US with cow had been recreated in Angola with Ibex. There is a stone statue of an Elephant breaking its bonds facing the stairs. In one corner of the park is a 50 foot statue of Neto in front of an archway. It is an impressive site but very expensive for a country with so much riches and so much poverty.
