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Exploring Zanzibar the Spice Island

Right: Kilimanjaro Ship that we used from Dar to Zanzibar and back

On 28th May 2011, Christian Kasumo (close friend of mine) and I set off from Dar-es-Salaam to Zanzibar. Our mission was to explore the famous spice island of Zanzibar lying on the Indian Ocean. Zanzibar is a semi-autonomous state that is part of Tanzania. The capital of Zanzibar, located on the island of Unguja, is Zanzibar City, and its historic centre, known as Stone Town, is a World Heritage Site. Zanzibar's main industries are spices, raffia, and tourism. In particular, the islands produce cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon and pepper. For this reason, the islands, together with Tanzania's Mafia Island, are sometimes called the Spice Islands. Zanzibar's most famous event is the Zanzibar International Film Festival, also known as the Festival of the Dhow Countries. Every July, this event showcases the best of the Swahili Coast arts scene, including Zanzibar's favorite music, Taarab.

Right: Christian (in cap) aboard the Kilimanjaro Ship

In history, Zanzibar was famous worldwide for its spices and its slaves. It was East Africa's main slave-trading port, and in the mid-19th century as many as 50,000 slaves were passing annually through the slave markets of Zanzibar. We left Dar-es-Salaam in the morning using a luxury ship. The ship was fully packed. The journey to Zanzibar took 2 hours. It was made shorter by watching Mr. Bones, a South African comedy that was being screened on the ship. The journey was smoother much smoother than the return trip (more on that later!). When we arrived in Zanzibar we had our passport’s stamped and then quickly found a local tour guide for the island. We opted for a two hour walking guide of the old Zanzibar. So then what did we see?

Right: Gabriel at Indian Ocean coast

The first building we saw was the Mercury House. This is named after the famous musician Freddie Mercury of the popular band Queen who was born in Zanzibar. We were then taken to a mosque that had doors more than 100 years old but still looking strong. It’s worth mentioning that Zanzibar’s main religion is Islam. It is said to account for 95% of the island’s religion. One interesting feature of the streets in old town in Zanzibar is that they are very narrow. Only pedestrians, those on bicycles, motor bikes and those riding donkey’s can use the streets. We then went to the gardens with an open space overlooking the Indian Ocean. We were informed by the guide that every day at 18 00 hours, locals and visitors gather to sample the various foods that are found in Zanzibar. We missed this part as we got back to Dar-es-Salaam well before 18 00 hours.

Right: Christian with tour guide take a stroll at Old Stone City

The next place we saw was an old fort (see photo below). We then went to a fish market where we saw fish that we had never seen before or heard of. This included some little white shark! Incredible that such is eaten! After that we went to a spice market. What a market! Christian and I bought a number of spices. Among the spices we bought was also banana coffee, masala tea (a mixed spices tea with numerous health benefits), vanilla tea and so on. Zanzibar is truly a Spice island!

Right: Christian and myself relaxing at the old fort

Our next stop was an old bath house built over several hundred years ago. Though the building is very old, it looks very old! A look at the design of the bath house gives some insight into the design of modern sauna’s. The bath house had components for the men to leave their clothes, a hot bath area, an area for showers, including showers from the natural rain!

After all the walking we had done for almost 90 minutes, we were tired and needed to refresh ourselves with some food and drink. We were guided to a small cute restaurant where we had samsooa’s, burgers and chips. Not forgetting the special Amazon Thunder drink made out of the local tropical fruits. It was a very refreshing drink! I just wish we had got the recipe for the drink for it sure thundered in our taste bud’s (at least mine!). After the meal, it was time to get back to Dar-es-Salaam. We bid farewell to our tour guide and paid the fees to him. We then boarded the same ship we had come with in the morning.


Our return trip was a bit interesting. There were quite some serious waves on the ocean. Some people that were on the open upper deck of the ship were vomiting due to the waves. For the first time, I got a true understanding of what we had learnt about sea-sickness that sailors of long ago that ventured from America, Europe and Asia suffered when they travelled by boat on the ocean’s. The waves were quite strong that at some point it felt as if we were on a small boat even though the ship was quite big! Our colleague with whom we visited Zanzibar made a wise choice when she travelled back by air. (To our wonder some local Tanzanian’s rowed past us in a small boat that looked like a canoe. The boat was very packed with people standing. The risks people can take!) We got relieved when we saw the lights of Dar-es-Salaam on the shore lines. We were glad to be back on land again after our brief visit to the Spice Island! With the beautiful shores and coral reefs on the Indian Ocean and the blend of ancient and modern buildings and culture in Zanzibar, it is no wonder that some newly-wed couples have made Zanzibar their honeymoon destination!

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Comments

Christian Kasumo said…
Gab, thanks for documenting our maiden visit to Zanzibar. It is a truly amazing place, considering its historical importance. Of course, on a sad note, the place is rather backward in terms of the spread of Christianity and the little that is there is not evangelical. It is a ripe mission-field, being a predominantly Muslim island. But I will never forget that first visit. Perhaps I'll return there some day. Some of the spices we bought went very quickly at home, particularly cinnamon coffee. Everybody loved it and it finished in no time, as did Fish Masala; but others have taken long to finish, like Ginger tea. I seem to be the only fan of it in my home!
January 20, 2012 at 5:56 AM
Gabriel Konayuma said…
Christian good to hear about your impressions! One would indeed pray for the spread of the gospel on that beautiful island. Most of the spices finished too. But I think that visit planted in me a love for tea masala...
April 30, 2012 at 2:12 PM
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