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Blogs from Zanzibar City, Zanzibar, Tanzania, Africa - page 3
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December 29th 2011
Stone Town is one of the most amazing places and we couldn’t get enough of it. The old town takes you back in history at least a few hundred years. Nothing has changed since it is now a world heritage site and for good reason. Stone Town is the heart of Zanzibar and is surrounded by the clear blue/green sea, narrow streets, high buildings and multicultural people which gives it an own charm to this place. We were walking through a maze to find the right exit and every wrong turn is leading to something fantastic – awesome spices paradise, colorful cloths’ shop, tasty restaurants, an interesting and crowded night food market and absolutely amazing view towards the crystal clear sea. Of course it is quite touristic and especially around Christmas but it is possible to ... read more
November 13th 2011
We arrived in Zanzibar after a short flight from Kigali and a couple of nights in Dar es Salaam. We didn't explore much of Dar, mainly because it was exceedingly hot and the white sands and crystal waters of Zanzibar were calling to us. Our first few days on the Spice Isle were spent in Stone Town the old part of the capital Zanzibar Town. We got ourselves lost in the winding cobbled streets, being harangued by touts and hawkers and checking out a few local sites and museums, including the supposed childhood home of Freddie Mercury and the old slave market, the site of one of the last legal slave markets in the world. One of our highlights was tucking into some delicious shark, lobster and shrimp kebabs washed down with sugarcane and ginger juice ... read more
September 30th 2011
Turquoise waters and fine white sand, historical buildings and narrow alleyways, busy markets and friendly people, this is the colorful spice islands. This is Zanzibar. On arriving in Stone Town you are met with a maze of winding alleyways and narrow streets, full of color and laughter. As you pass ancient buildings its easy to imagine a time of pirates and traders. A time when the Spice Islands were the ancient trading route to the world. A time when Royal Britannia ruled the seas. Being welcomed into the slums by the local Muslims and seeing how they live with religious dedication an honesty is an eye opening experience. Being woken up at 5am with a call to prayer an unwanted reminder to explore this colorful and fascinating island. As you weave in and out of the ... read more
Zanzibar, Cultural Capital of the Swahili Coast
Published: September 22nd 2011Africa » Tanzania » Zanzibar » Zanzibar City
September 20th 2011
The old turboprop swooped low over the Indian ocean. The high wing allowed the passengers to see the clearly marked fringing reefs, with settlements and tourist hotels below. The pilot altered pitch on the propellors and the twin turbines emitted a new growl. It was almost as if he had changed down a gear. Flat arable land appeared under the wings and then the shanty town that was the capital of Zanzibar. People expect Zanzibar to be a world heritage site with ancient stone buildings, created in an arabesque comorian style; but while this exists, most of “Stone town” was a tin roofed shanty. The taxi cruised smoothly into town. Car washes, small shops and street mechanics lined the airport road. We left in doubt that Zanzibar was a third world country. A thriving, bustling alive ... read more
July 29th 2011
Ok, so after an epic safari, headed back to the villages for 10 days ... it was a week of hard work, we managed to fit in lots of teachings to schools, community groups etc and have organised our big SIC testing day for next Wednesday, advertising it as SIRI, BURE HARAKA....fast free and confidential! Hopefully there will be a record turn out ... so teachings went really well, teaching reproductive health to 150 girls in a primary school classroom was certainly a challenge, 30 footballers the same day, some life skills and their goals and dreams, related to why its so important for them to stay healthy etc, we made a paper chain of all of them which they loved - im definately racking up my numbers of african gap yahhh photos hah surrounded by ... read more
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June 8th 2011
Before starting graduate school, I worked for a short stint as a host at an Ann Arbor restaurant called Zanzibar Pan-Tropical Bistro. The place’s shtick was that the food was a global fusion representing the tropics from around the world, using spices from that rather broad swath of the world. There was little that was specific to the real Zanzibar, but the name was meant to evoke a sense of the exotic - a faraway land redolent of spices, bathed in salty air. It was an easy choice of name for a “pan-tropical” bistro. Almost everyone has heard the name “Zanzibar”; almost everyone carries an image of what exotic Zanzibar is – or should be. It is an almost a mythic place. Sort of like “Timbuktu”. Except that Zanzibar is a real island, just like Timbuktu ... read more
May 25th 2011
There can be few places in the world that are better for people watch than Jaws Corner in the centre of Zanibar's old Stone Town. An elderly gentleman has set up an impromptu coffee stall, and the junction, where four of Zanzibar's winding alleys converge, has become a meeting place for everyone on the island. The coffee is brewed is two stainless steel kettles, balanced precariously over a small charcoal stove. It's drank in the small handle-less porcelain cups so common in the Muslim world, from Cairo to the Indian Ocean. And when you're finished, the cups are washed clean in rainwater collected from an overflowing gutter that runs from the roofs of one of the surrounding dilapidated buildings,complete with rusty roofs, and rotting shutters hanging ajar on the last hinge. And as you sip the ... read more
April 28th 2011
After quitting our jobs, moving out of our apartment and sending our belongings off to storage for a year, we finally began a new chapter of our lives here in Africa. Our first flight from Hong Kong was to Tanzania and our journey commenced on the tropical island of Zanzibar. Zanzibar is a small island of 800,000 people, approx 90 % of which are Muslim. Our first few nights were spent at a beach town called Bwejuu located on the east coast of Zanzibar. The east coast is quiet and most of the beaches are untouched, maintaining their natural beauty. Our timing wasn’t perfect as it was the beginning of the low/rainy season and it rained most days. We made the most of our days staying at the Twisted Palm Lodge, had beach walks, hired a ... read more
March 12th 2011
Hello again…. Finally (after a 2 hour boat ride) arrived in Zanzibar. It was incredibly hot, but in yet another muslim country I had to cover up…not impressed - but as they say here...Hakuna Matata! We immediately met out new group members and much to Danny’s disappointment they were all girls and one 50 year old guy from Canada….oh well! I know travelling is meant to broaden the mind, but when danny refers to wanting better conversation – he really means he wants a guy to chat about sport to! And who says find out about brad and angelina isn’t interesting…………. Anyway, straight off the boat we headed straight to our hotel - it was lovely – a big 4 poster bed with flowing white mosquito nets –and not inside a tent! Loved it! We then ... read more
March 9th 2011
So after the bright lights of Dubai, we landed back in reality in Nairobi in the evening and met up with Aleem, Carrie’s friend from Uni who lives in Nairobi. He kindly took us out for a bite to eat (best Indian food we have had, including when we went to India!) and a few Tusker beers. Unfortunatley, we left at 7am the next morning so that was the extent of Nairobi that we saw, but it was great to see a friendly face! So, the next morning we were up early and met our group, guide and bus that is taking us all the way to Cape Town in the next 40 days. There are 21 of us in all, with ages ranging from 19 to pensioners. Lots of different nationalities but I am one ... read more
