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Showing posts with label Kendwa. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kendwa. Show all posts

Wednesday, December 6, 2017

Zanzibar (Tanzania) - Mercury Rising

STONE TOWN - ZANZIBAR (Tanzania)
06 December - 10 December 2017



How cool a name is Zanzibar!? How cool a name for a country would that have been? Actually, even when it became part of the United Republic of Tanganyika, it was still pretty cool sounding. It was one of those places on my global map that would always jump out at me as the mysterious named conjured up images of something exotic & unreachable.
Also, for those that aren’t aware of their rock history, Freddie Bulsara was born here in 1946, part of the baby boomer era, and if that name is still confusing you then just have a look at Live Aide from 1985 and spot the front man for Queen, that’ll give you some sort of clue as to the most well known export from the Sultanate of Zanzibar.


On the tarmac in Dar es Salaam - Tanzania
We were told that we couldn't bring our drinks onto the plane.
So we asked security to take our photo whilst we finished them - it was a WIN-WIN

Stone Town - Zanzibar - Tanzania

Stone Town - Zanzibar - Tanzania
In the middle of an afternoon downpour 

Stone Town - Zanzibar - Tanzania

Stone Town - Zanzibar - Tanzania

Stone Town - Zanzibar - Tanzania


Considering the proximity for Johannesburg the idea of making it to Zanzibar was influenced primarily by dreams of turquoise waters, exotic heritage mix, spice trading and all things Stone Town related, which to me felt akin to being a version of Fez or Marrakech on the Indian Ocean.

In part that what Zanzibar felt like when we arrived. Certainly a tropical feel, but then you get hit instantly by the obvious mix of cultures, African, Arabic, Indian and a dash of European. That type of fusion always makes for a fascinating and engaging environment, one where the ebbs and flows of dominant cultures can be seen in the architecture, culinary offerings and social etiquette.


Stone Town - Zanzibar - Tanzania

Stone Town - Zanzibar - Tanzania

Stone Town - Zanzibar - Tanzania
We had this guy make us up a painting exactly like that - it now has pride of place in the Inga's mum's living room

Stone Town - Zanzibar - Tanzania

Stone Town - Zanzibar - Tanzania

Stone Town - Zanzibar - Tanzania

To me, more than anything, I had the feel that Stone Town was more Arabic than anything else, although my readings stipulate Swahili, which is a unique mix of Arab, Persian, Indian and European elements.  Still, when you walk through the narrow alleyways of the centre of Stone Town, lined with shops, bazaars, mosques and boutique hotels, I can’t help but thing of Morocco, which in itself is a mixture of Berber & Arabic.

The name of the town itself comes from the ubiquitous use of coral stone as the main construction material, which gives the town a characteristic, reddish warm colour. For me, both the warmth and the entanglement of passage ways/alleyways it what makes this a place of mystery and discovery. For me there feels like there’s always something new to discover behind every door, up every obscured staircase, in the back of every bazaar.

Slightly dishevelled and a little gritty in part, there has been a concerted effort in the last 20 years to undertake restoration work which will bring the true feel of Stone Town back to life.  From my perspective it’s working. Historically however, what I didn’t know before arriving was that Stone Town was the host to one of the world’s last open slave markets, presided over by Arab traders, until being shut down by the British in 1873.


Stone Town - Zanzibar - Tanzania
This is what happens when your team gets beaten - you drink to forget

Stone Town - Zanzibar - Tanzania

Stone Town - Zanzibar - Tanzania


Slaves were shipped in dhows from the mainland, crammed so tightly in confined spaces that many fell ill and died, being thrown overboard on their journey to the island. Again, its one of those things that you understand that happened but can’t in any real way put your mind to the sheer cruelty of action from one set of human beings to another. How there could be no understanding to the extent of human suffering, to the mental torment, to the total eradication of any freedoms.


Kendwa - Zanzibar - Tanzania

Kendwa - Zanzibar - Tanzania

Kendwa - Zanzibar - Tanzania

Kendwa - Zanzibar - Tanzania

Kendwa - Zanzibar - Tanzania
Love this photo - just managed to catch that bird in-flight to the right of the photo


All I tend to feel in situation such as this is overwhelming pity, and also, fury and rage for those that simply treated humans as a business transaction. How could you ever think this was the right thing to do? Where is the compassion?


Markets - Stone Town - Zanzibar - Tanzania

Stone Town - Zanzibar - Tanzania

Stone Town - Zanzibar - Tanzania

Stone Town - Zanzibar - Tanzania

Stone Town - Zanzibar - Tanzania


Outside of Stone Town, we took some time out to head up to the north of the island and spent a glorious afternoon on the beach in Kendwa.  A beautiful area on the calm Western side, this area has a number of stylish beach bars where you can laze out in the sun, order drinks, have a spot of lunch, and even indulge in some sheesha, which was quite an easy thing for us to do.

Getting on the water is also quite a pleasurable thing to do here, although options are still kind of primitive, we did manage to take a boat ride out to some of the nearby islands and spend a glorious afternoon on the water, doing not much really other than admiring the view.
Zanzibar is a marvellous place. I feel that on this occasion we didn’t quite get the most of it in that we spent a lot of our time in Stone Town without exploring the island entirely, but one day, one day we’ll be back, and its beaches will come under attack!