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Farhat Jah
Raf lives on Pemba, a smallish Island in the Indian Ocean. 30 miles off the coast of Tanzania and surrounded by water 800-3000m deep, it is truly off the African continental shelf. Raf spends 8-9 months of the year running Swahili Divers and a beach camp called "the Kervan Saray" (or travellers rest house). When he is not diving, Raf travels the world aimlessly in search of places with few tourists and a large sense of history. He is rarely successful in finding "that place", but "its fun getting it wrong".turkishraf
Raf can usually be found 90ft down on a coral reef in the Indian Ocean or lying on a berth on some rattling Ekspres in central asia, watching the scenery go by. Rarely without a camera, and a great proponent of film, his images can be seen at www.farhatjah.com.
Originally started as a home for a newletter, these pages have now become something more, a list of facetious or amusing comments on life as it slides past the train window, or underfoot in some mountain range. Enjoy reading the pages and of course divers are most welcome in pemba. www.swahilidivers.com
Travel Blog Posts
A CHAT WITH THE MANTA MAN......interview with Bill Acker.
Published: April 25th 2013Oceania » Micronesia » Yap
April 25th 2013
Deep down in the Western Caroline Islands there is a small Island called Yap. The Yap Islands form the centre of Yap state, one of the founder states of the Federated States of Micronesia. Yap (and the FSM) gained independence from the trusteeship of the United States in 1986. In that same year of Independence, a unknown business graduate and former peacecorps volunteer started Yap’s first dive shop, “Yap Divers”. That graduate was Bill Acker. He went on to find, promote and help protect Yap’s resident Manta Rays. He went on to create the Manta Ray Awareness speciality course and became a larger than life figure within the global dive industry. Recognised by awards from magazines, travel organisations and most of the dive industry, Bill Acker is a polite thoughtful man who’s hand is still on ... read more
Among the Fruit Bats- The Islands of Yap
Published: February 27th 2013Oceania » Micronesia » Yap » Colonia
February 27th 2013
AMONG THE FRUIT BATS - YAP ISLANDS THE MANTAS “I remember that there was a plane here” says Colin “A zero” “Hell” says Bill Acker , the owner of Yap Divers, and effective founder of tourism in Yap state. “that’s not a Zero, that’s a Judy ; It was shot down in WW2. It’s in Mi’il Channel.” “Where is it? “ I ask. “Go to the channel and turn left it’s there in 3 metres of water.” Based upon Bill’s succinct directions, we decide that the best time to look for it is after a dive with Manta rays. It seems so glib to be able to say this. But Yap is famous for it’s manta rays and Bill guarantees that you will see them. The number and conditions can change. At this stage ... read more
November 26th 2012
The Meso American Barrier Reef A long sandy track runs beside the sea, backed by small houses. A row of dirty pangas, local fibreglass skiffs, sit along the beach. A dog wanders sedately past an old but functional shipping beacon. A few children ride by on their tiny cycles and a military truck grumbles down the sand with a barrel of fuel in it. This is the village of Xcalak, the last settlement before the start of what was once British Honduras. Now called the nation of Belize- which lies 6 miles to the south. Fishing has been the life of the community of Xcalak for over a century. In the first half of the 20th century, Xcalak was a prosperous town. A thriving coconut and fishing business created wealth and attracted traders. Shops, a cinema, ... read more
May 9th 2012
The Boeing takes off from Ngura Rai airport and climbs hard. We pass Kuta Beach south, and our hotel as the engines thunder on. The pilot takes us high and then into a lazy bend to the north climbing all the while, turbines roaring. Our flight takes us completely overwater. There is no divert airport here, Its either Ngura Rai or Sultan Hassanuddin. The pilot wants the height. We swing to the right of Bali and then the left, working our way North, climbing all the while. On our left is mount Agun, at 3000m Bali’s highest volcano. On the right, the highest peak in Lombok comes into view, the dawn mists swirl slightly around its base, but the summit is clear. The sun shines on the slopes and the outline of Lombok becomes clear. The ... read more
April 1st 2012
Henok drives slightly more carefully around the winding bends. We have 2000ft to descend from the mountain capital of Harar to the desert railhead of Dire Dawa. The road is steep, and we pass deep canyons. It is the end of the dry season and the earth and stone looks central asian. "Does this remind you of Afghanistan?” I ask Francois? “Yes some parts very much” He replies in his perfect if slightly accented English. Francois had decided to join us after all, and he sat in the left seat behind Henok taking it all in. The villages are scarce and extremely poor. We pass the same derelict 109 safari landrover that we saw on the way in. The Ethiopians are building an enormous cement factory, that acts as the mountainside guardian of Dire Dawa. The ... read more
Touts and Mosques, The city of Harar..
Published: March 24th 2012Africa » Ethiopia » Harari Region » Harar
March 24th 2012
It is Friday in Harar. Mike and I walk in the morning, eager to get some exercise having been in the car for so long. We walk purposefully away from the old city and climb a hill. Indian made auto rickshaws splutter past us, up the incline. Barely making progress faster than our legs. The new town in unassuming, but the trees are pretty and the morning smells are pleasant and fresh. At the summit we find the Harar brewery. Hara turns out to be slightly more convoluted than we thought. Numerous guide books tell us, that the Emperor Haile Selassie converted the main mosque on the main square in the walled city into a church, to inform Muslim population that he was in charge. This must have sent a powerful signal to the Muslim community, ... read more
March 24th 2012
We leave Addis in a landcruiser GX. I am surprised by how uncomfortable it is. Henok, our driver is a cross between a beach boy and tour guide. He is a 30 year old freelance driver who hires his boss’ car and drives tourists around. On the outskirts of addis he removes his shirt and drives in a sleeveless red top. Luckily the Ethiopian tourism licensing board are a bit wishy washy on what is allowed and not. The price for our car has mysteriously gone up from $145 to $155 per day. We are presented with a fait acomopli. Ethiopia’s land locked status is immediately apparent upon leaving addis. This is the road to Djibouti and it has not been widened or improved in 13 years. We are stuck between the empty lorries going back ... read more
March 21st 2012
The new dash 8 q400 enters the addis valley. This is a small aircraft to spend three and a half sleeping hours on, but I feel good. I have two seats to myself, and i-mike, the American doctor is down the cabin. The turboprop’s is inbound from Zanzibar. The names Zanzibar and Addis Ababa trip easily off the tongue; but to those of us who live here, the reality is not quite so romantic. We fly between ridges with brown patchwork fields below us. They give way to insdustrial warehouses, new concrete housing, a single forestry block and the addis bus depot. The orange and yellow buses make a stark sight. Everything is so dry, a dual carriageway that bisect two large old cemetaries flies by; we are lower now, and seem faster over the earth. ... read more
LAOS- The Land of smiles..... red tabs and collectivity
Published: November 30th 2011Asia » Laos » South » Champasak
November 30th 2011
The ATR 72 made a wide turn over the Mekong hills, over a bend in the river. The plane curved again around the lush but steep hills. Soon enough we were below the hills and flying up a valley. A small tin roofed town came into view; an unassuming place in a bend in the river. A temple went by my left side, level with the wing, we descended rapidly and then with a crunch we were down on an asphalt air strip. We rolled and the pilot used reverse feather on the propellers. The door opened at the back, it was surprisingly cool. We were first off the plane and strolled to the small concrete building with an old, communist era control tower. This was Luang Prabang- and we had landed in Laos! Laos was ... 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
Tot: 0.169s; Tpl: 0.008s; cc: 13; qc: 54; dbt: 0.0569s; 1; s:apollo w:www (50.28.60.10); sld: 1; ; mem: 6.4mb
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