Blogs from Zanzibar, Tanzania, Africa - page 60

Prison island (and a few giant tortoises)

Africa » Tanzania » Zanzibar » Zanzibar City November 30th 1998

Prison Island (Changuu) is the most popular island to visit from Stone Town as it is only a short boat ride (about 10 minutes) away from town. Actually, everybody seems to visit this island... The island was in the 19th century owned by an Arab who used it, as the sign says, for housing "recalcitrant slaves". Basically, unruly slaves were to the island for discipline. Later it was owned by a British General who actually built a prison and it was used it as a quarantine station. The island offers the largest tortoises we have ever seen, and visitors can take a walk around the island sightseeing the old prisons and various other historical artifacts. That is it... I must say i was a bit disappointed. OK, giant turtles were quite intriguing (they were brought to ... read more

Karibu Zanzibar, the island of spices

Africa » Tanzania » Zanzibar » Zanzibar City November 29th 1998

Stonetown

MatevzH

Let's go to Zanzibar... All I ever knew before is, that is an island faaaaar away with sexy name... Oh, and beside that, Freddie Mercury (Queen) was born there... So, the our boat was already waiting for us... At first, I was thinking to go with a dhow, but as this is supposedly illegal and as it takes too long (just a few weeks before i saw Michael Palin travelling from Dubai to Mumbai on a dhow), we kinda agreed on something a bit faster... actually, we bought tickets a fast boat, Flying Horse, for 30US$... (two ways). Actually, this was quite expensive, especially compared to what the locals pay... but ok, i will earn (someday in the future - hopefully) much more money than them... 2 and a half hour trip is quite uneventful. Ok, ... read more

Brief history of Tanzania

Shortly after independence, Tanganyika and Zanzibar merged to form the nation of Tanzania in 1964. One-party rule came to an end in 1995 with the first democratic elections held in the country since the 1970s. Zanzibar's semi-autonomous status and po...more history

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