Zanzibar

It's been a while since I last posted on my blog, my apologies for that. It's nearing the end of my time here in Tanzania and tomorrow I'll be jetting back to Uganda, my home away from home. My time in Dar es Salaam has been eventful. On top of work and weekend trips away, I managed to contract malaria which put me out of action for close to a week. After 30 pills in three days and a few days of rest I am happy to report I am back to normal.

My second weekend in Tanzania was spent in the idyllic locale of Zanzibar, a small island off the coast of mainland Tanzania. You can reach Zanzibar by plane or ferry. I opted for the latter, taking the 4pm express ferry after work on a Friday (I understand there are slow ferries too). For a foreigner a one way ferry trip to Zanzibar costs US$35 and takes about 2.5 hours from Dar es Salaam. Through a lovely friend I met in Maputo I joined a group of 10 people on a weekend getaway to Kendwa in the north of Zanzibar - a one hour drive from Zanzibar's ferry port. The first picture below is of the beach front at our destination, a place called Kendwa Rocks on the northern tip of Zanzibar.

Zanzibar is actually an archipelago made up of two main islands - Unguja (usually referred to as 'Zanzibar') and Pemba. We stayed on Unguja which is home to the capital Zanzibar City where the historic old city of Stone Town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is located.

At Kendwa Rocks I met a Zahran (pictured below) who showed me some of the stunning beaches around Kendwa Rocks. Zahran manages security at Kendwa Rocks and is a sound technician by training. Let's just say security is sound there (apologies for the poor joke).

After two nights and a full day kicking back at the beach I headed back to Stone Town, the historic heart of Zanzibar. On Sunday morning I jumped on a shuttle bus from Kendwa Rocks for the one hour trip back to Stone Town. Driving the shuttle was a fellow called Mohamed, who kindly offered to show me the many sights of Stone Town. Our first stop was a local street stall for lunch pictured below. For 1,500TSh (about $1.35 Australian dollars) we enjoyed grilled chicken in a hearty broth with potatoes, fresh greens and topped with finely sliced crispy cassava chips and a dash of chilli. We ate our lunch seated on a thin wooden bench on the side of the road.

Freddie Mercury, of the musical band Queen fame, was born in Zanzibar. Born Farokh Bulsara he later changed his name to Freddie Mercury. The house below is said to be Freddie's family home in Stone Town. It is now a souvenir and gift shop.

My friend Mohamed standing inside the Old Fort in Stone Town. The Old Fort, also known as the Arab Fort, was built by the Arabs in the 1700s to protect themselves against attacks from the Portuguese.

The Old Fort stands next to Beit-El-Ajaib, also known as the House of Wonders. The House of Wonders is a majestic building and is now a museum describing the history of Stone Town and significant figures of Zanzibar including Princess Sayyida Salme - a pioneering figure of her time (one worth reading more about). Built in the late 1800s, Beit-El-Ajaib was the first building in Zanzibar to have electric lighting and a lift. Unfortunately I did not capture a picture of the building on camera.

Zanzibar was a hub in the East African slave trade during the 1800s. Our guide Nicholas, pictured with Mohamed in one of the preserved cells, told us that approximately 4.5 million slaves were traded through Zanzibar's slave market between 1811 and 1873. Slaves from East Africa were sent to the Middle East. As the picture and short video shows, the cells were small and cramped. Slaves were kept in the cells for 3 days and then whipped. Many died of suffocation in the cells as there was only a small window for the circulation of air. Those that were able to withstand the whippings better than others were sold for a higher price.

After a packed day seeing the sights of Stone Town and wandering through the alleyways of this historic city I boarded the 4pm ferry back to Dar es Salaam.