Seyyida and Forodhani in Stone Town

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I just arrived back in Nairobi after three nights in Zanzibar! What a fascinating place, it's like it's been frozen in time for hundreds of years with instances of modernity plastered on as an afterthought in random places. The tiny set of islands is part of the country of Tanzania off the east coast of Africa in the Indian Ocean. As i flew in on the afternoon flight I could clearly see the brilliant white beaches and azure water of Unguja. One of the first satellite islands you see owned by Bill Gates and called Nemba. Then as I flew down the mainland I could see the maze of housing as we approached Zanzibar City. The modern housing is all constructed out of concrete bricks or coral with plaster and covered with corrugated steel roofing. The strange thing was that at least 20-30% of the housing looks like its in ruin. It turns out the government gives the people of Zanzibar a 20 x 20 metre plot for free, however they have to show that they have developed the land within 1 year or they take the plot of land back from the resident. In order to appear they have developed they often put the foundations of the house in for the inspector to see, then they may take years or decades to complete the construction!

The primary industry of Zanzibar is tourism and so we are there to consult on upgrades to thier airport on the Unguja airport and one on the other island of Pemba as well as to develop a helicopter operation to transport tourists to the different points on the islands quickly and comfortably. The existing airport reminded me of the one in Cuba with very basic amenties, in the distance from the existing terminal you can see the shell of the new terminal being built by the Chinese. However, the construction on that terminal stopped over a year and a half ago...

We hired a minibus taxi to take us through Zanzibar City and into Stone Town, the main coastal town located on the western shore of Unguja Island. This town was controlled since 1698 by Arabs of the Busaidi dynasty and has a distinctly middle eastern feel in the construction of the buildings. The designs of the doors throughout the town are exquisitely carved and most of the furniture and railings etc also echo this ornate middle eastern theme. The area we stayed in is part of the Sultan's Palace, but even though it looks old and deteriorated the original Sultan's palace was completely destroyed by the British in 1986 and this is a rebuilt version. Our hotel is part of the complex and cannot even be reached by car. Instead, we navigate through winding narrow pathways with our luggage and end up on the doorstep of a beautiful boutique hotel, the Seyyida. The manager knows my father well because of all the time he's spent there and our stay is heavily discounted as they know we're working hard to help develop Zanzibar. After inspecting our luxurious room with two massive king size beds and shared bathroom, we quickly spilled back out onto the streets to make it in time to see the sunset at Forodhani Park. This is similar to a town square with gardens and little coffee shops surrounded by restaurants, but it's right against the shoreline overlooking the port where the ferries, sail ships, etc are anchoring for the night.

Right at sunset an air siren sounds and the prayers are broadcast over the loudspeakers. The city is primarily Muslim and so the majority of women wear head coverings, but in the park no one seems to take any notice of the prayers. Instead, the local boys are all gathered around the walls of the pier to encourage each other as they take turns doing elaborate flips off the pier into the water. The fishermen busy themselves preparing the daily offering of seafood in a night market and it seems the entire city floods into the park to socialize in the twilight. All around the buildings are crumbling away, but the smell of the ocean mixed with curried seafood and the sounds of the prayers, waves and the children playing clearly show how alive this town is!

I'd never seen anything like it and i couldn't wait to explore more in the daylight...

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Photos

Approach to the Unguja and Nemba
You can clearly see the large coral reefs as the lighter part of in the ocean off the coasts of the islands, if I'm lucky next time I'll get to go diving!

Google Earth View
Sometimes I like to try and figure out where the heck I am on the Earth lol, you can see below Dar es Salaam, the Capital of Tanziania on the mainlaind. This is where the ferries head to out of Stone Town

Typical... no toilet seat
Part of having an arabic culture is that you cleanse yourself with water and hover over the toilet instead of sit. I was very lucky to even find toilet paper.... this is a huge thing to adjust to lol

Atrium at the Seyyida
I liked the rainforest feel inside the hotel on the walk to the room. The vines go up four stories to the rooftop lounge where they bloom!

My Bed!!
The curtains are not for ambiance, they are pulled every night around me to protect against mosquito. They are very nice though, make you feel cozy while you sleep

Zanzibar Carved Doors
These are at the entrance to the Old Airport which are now administrative buildings, but even more intricately carved ones are all over the town.

Capturing Sunset
even the locals gather to see the beauty

Boys playing on the Pier
There are great cheers for the boys who can withstand the pain of belly flops, but mostly they do flips just like they are on the high diving board!

House of Wonders
This is a national museum now of the Sultan's residence, but it's being renovated.

Sumptous Seafood
All caught and prepared by the local fisherman on thier dhow and jahazi boats. They are more than happy to explain everything about the food.

Comments

[Dancing Dave]

Zanzibar! What a fascinating place
There is a little boutique restaurant in Stone Town near the Obama Tree where a local traditional band played...the music transported us into one of the best nights we have had in Africa. Worth looking for.

[revanxx]

Thanks for the heads up!
I'm going back in a couple weeks I'll make sure to check it out. I saw something where you took your shoes off before you went in and sat on pillows on the floor while a traditional band played drums etc while you ate. I didn't go in because I'd already stuffed myself, is this where you meant?