Zanzibar, Tanzania
Friday,
December 12, 2014
Zanzibar,
Tanzania
Our ship docked in Zanzibar around 7:30
AM. Our tour was scheduled for
8:15AM. We watched the harbor approach
during our breakfast from the outside dining tables (al fresco) of the Terrace café
at the stern of the ship.
Zanzibar is a semi-autonomous part of Tanzania
in East Africa and actually consists of an archipelago with a number of
islands, but the main one where we docked, Unguja, is where the capital city of
Zanzibar City is located. The total
population of Zanzibar is just over 200,000 and two-thirds of the people live
on the main island. Ferry services run
regularly to both the Tanzania mainland (Dar Es Salaan, ~20 miles away) and the
other large island of Pemba.
The majority of people are Muslim (~99%) and
the remainder Christian. Our guide said
that religious tolerance is the norm.
During Ramadan…Christians are not allowed to eat in public places during
the day but can do so in private and the Muslims are respectful of Christian
holidays such as Christmas. The local tourist stores and hotels in town were commonly
decorated for Christmas, so Muslims and Christians alike practice the commercial
holiday spirit.
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| Local street scene |
Both guides we talked to said that 4 wives were
the norm and many children, often 10-15. Although I asked, I never got a
straight answer on whether that was per wife or in total. When asked whether it was hard to feed that
many children, he said you could always get food. Rice is the main dish with coconut an
essential part and often fish as well.
In contradiction of what the guide said…Wikipedia says that 12% of the
children in Zanzibar are malnourished.
Ten years of education are compulsory for
students in Zanzibar. Our guide said
that few students are able to afford the cost of the University.
Although there were certainly prosperous
looking areas, many of the shack type dwellings that we saw in India were
prevalent here also. Our guide said that
many people do not have electricity (too expensive) or running water. They obtain their water from the village well
and carry it home in jugs on their heads.
Wooden sticks and charcoal are the main fuel for cooking.
Fishing and farming are the main forms of
employment for the majority of the population with tourism also playing an
important role, but the guide said that only about 4 cruise ships per year stop
there and the majority of people (most commonly Italians and Russians) fly
there to spend time at resorts and enjoy the beaches.
Spices are important to today’s economy and
they export a number of them along with seaweed and raffia (a type of palm used
in textiles and also woven). Spices
(especially cloves and nutmeg) have also played an important part in Zanzibar’s
history and they are why these islands are also referred to as the “Spice
Islands.” They were also an important
point along trade routes across the Indian Ocean.
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| Stone town street |
Our tour took us out of the city for a visit to
Jovani Chwaka Bay National Park, which is the only national park in
Zanzibar. This park is home to about
one-third of the rare Zanzibar red colobus monkeys. Although these monkeys have close relatives
on the mainland, they are considered a distinct species and one of Africa’s
rarest primates with only about 1500 of them remaining. They are a rain forest species that prefers a
drier area.
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| Red Colobus Monkey |
They were relatively unafraid of humans and we
got to observe them up close including mothers with babies. They eat mainly leaf shoots, seeds, flowers
and unripe fruit. They apparently can’t
digest the sugars found in mature fruit.
They are also known to consume charcoal and it is believed this aids in
their digestion of toxins that are found in the leaves of the mango and almond
trees. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zanzibar_red_colobus
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| Mom with baby |
After spending time watching and photographing
the monkeys and taking a short walk through the forest to observe different
plant species, we went across the road to visit a mangrove swamp. The swamp had a raised wooden pathway with
bridges. During high tides, much of the
swamp is filled with salt water.
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| Mangrove swamp |
In the past, the mangroves had served as an
important wood source for the population, but now most of the mangroves are
protected. It was very interesting to
observe the intricate patterns created by the roots and shoots. Holes dotted the mud between the roots and
these are homes for the mangrove crabs although we only caught a glimpse of a
couple. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mangrove
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| Stone town street |
An interesting site along our drive was
daladala share taxis. These are small
buses that also serve as trucks. People
are packed inside and the roofs (which have side rails) are piled high with all
kinds of products and wares. One of them
that passed had huge fish piled on top…an interesting and unique site.
After returning to ship for a quick lunch, we
took the shuttle into town for a quick view of Stone Town, which is a World
Heritage site and the “old part” of Zanzibar city. Unfortunately, after exiting the shuttle bus
we were followed by locals who either wanted to give us a tour or sell their
various pieces of artwork. “No thank
you” didn’t seem to be part of their vocabulary. We only had an hour or so to walk around and
this definitely made it difficult.
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| Decorative wood door |
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| Stone Town with wooden balconys |
We did manage to see a bit of the town, which
is known for its architecture, mostly from the 19th century, and a unique
mix of Arab, Persian, Indian, European and African traditions. The buildings
are constructed mainly of coral stone (thus the name Stone Town). The buildings have raised stone platforms
along their front, which serve as elevated sidewalks during heavy rains. We did have a couple of tropical downpours
during the day. Many of the houses and buildings have beautiful, intricately
carved doors, a very old tradition that has made this town famous for its
unique variety of “Zanzibar doors.” We
could have easily spent three or four hours here but the ship was sailing at 4
PM so we had to cut our visit short.
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| Stone Town from Ship |
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