Visit to Tanzania - Land of Kilimanjaro, Serengeti and Zanzibar

It was my joy and pleasure to visit Tanzania, the land of Mount Kilimanjaro, the tallest in Africa (see photo on left) and Serengeti National Park in May 2011 for a week. Though I had been to Tanzania before for a couple of hours each time at Tunduma (on the border with Zambia), this was the
first time I was coming to a major city in Tanzania. That city was
Dar-es-Salaam. I flew into Dar-es-Salaam at about 03 30 hours after a
14 hour delay by Zambezi Airlines. As a consolation for that delay, the airline put a number of us (passengers) up in Southern Ridgeway Hotel in Lusaka where we had some good lunch and supper and a few winks in the rooms. Our departure from Lusaka was around midnight. The flight was good. We were met in Dar by Tanzanian conference organisers. We were all dropped at our various hotels.I had made an online booking for Rombo Green View Hotel. Immediately after checking in I threw myself into bed for my much needed rest. I was in Tanzania to attend the 6th eLearning Africa Conference.

The next day I went to Mlimani City Conference Centre to do the registration formalities. There I met Christian Kasumo, my long time friend from secondary school, university and church and also my chief brides groom. He was also attending the same conference. Christian at the time was a postgraduate student at the University of Dar-es-Salaam where he has since graduated. God's ways are marvellous. Meeting close friends meet in a foreign land. What a blessing! The rest of the day we went sight seeing and shopping at the Mlimani City Shopping Mall. Later I went to change hotels to a nearer and better hotel: Landmark Hotel. This was after getting advice from local university students that were doing the Conference registration. I loved the hotel room. Clean and spacious room with air conditioner - a necessity in the hot and humid Dar-es-Salaam. The breakfast too was great. There were always fresh fruits and different fruit juices each day. I even tasted Water melon juice for the first time. Some of our local hotels would do well to emulate such innovativeness.

The eLearning Africa Conference started on 25th May with pre-Conference parallel sessions (Check photo above on right with me in blue t-shirt together with other African delegates). I attended the UNESCO African ICT Summit where I was a rapporteur. Presentations were made by speakers from ECOWAS who spoke of some of the initiatives in West Africa on e-Learning and distance learning. Speakers from Eastern and Southern Africa also spoke of some of the good practices in ICTs in their respective nations. The eLearning Africa was officially opened by the Vice President of Tanzania Dr. Mohamed Bilal. This was followed by keynote addresses. Notable among the addresses were Emmanuel Feruzi of Tanzania and Rev. Emmanuel Kingsley Dadebo from Ghana.



Dar-es-Salaam, which means Haven of Peace, is a busy bustling city with a population of 6 million. It is the political and commercial hub of Tanzania, nicely set along the Indian Ocean. The traffic jams in Dar are crazy! Forget about the traffic jams we complain about in Lusaka. They are like child's play when compared to Dar-es-Salaam. During one of the days whilst attending the Conference, I went to visit some friends who were booked at a hotel in the town centre. It took me close to 2 hours to get back to my hotel which was less than 10 kilometres away. At another time, when a fellow student Kinsley and I went to tour University of Dar-es-Salaam, (see photo above on the right of Nkurumah hall at the University) we used a 3 wheeled bus dubbed "bhajaj" (see photo above on the left) to get to the University.

It was faster than using an ordinary bus. It had some scary moments though when we thought it would flip over. Talking of their public buses called "dala dalas", they are really filled to capacity! A 30 seater bus could have well over 40 plus passengers crammed inside with some standing!

Dar-es-Salaam (see photo aboce) is a very busy city with citizens working day and night to earn a living. People in Dar rarely sleep! Despite the humid weather during the day the streets will be busy upto almost midnight and beyond trying to sell one good or another. The markets normally close late. This worked to my advantage as I was able to buy some gifts for myn family after 19 00 on a Saturday after coming back from Zanzibar. It is very common for individuals and families to buy food prepared in the streets and eat from there. I suppose this is because food is very cheap there. Food is plenty in Dar-es-Salaam as Tanzania is a very agricultural nation. Tea is a very common beverage. All types of tea are found. Black tea, Green tea, Masala tea (tea made from various spices) and many types of herbal tea.

Dar is also a coastal nation (see photo above) sitting on the shores of the Indian ocean. It is a busy port through which a lot of goods arrive from Europe and the Far East arrive. As it is situated so close to the equator and the warm Indian ocean, the city experiences generally tropical climatic conditions, characterized humid weather throughout much of the year. In terms of population, Dar-es-Salaam is said to be the third fastest growing city in Africa and ninth in the world! Economically, Dar-es-Salaam and Tanzania appears to be vibrant and growing. Prices of food and other commodities are far much cheaper than in Zambia. It is for this reason that a number of Zambians (at least twenty 65 seater buses) travel to Tunduma daily to go and buy goods for personal use and for sale. Others go much further to Dar-es-Salaam.

Tanzanian's are generally a very hospitable people (see above photo). In most places a visitor is greeted with the greeting: "Karibu sana" meaning you are very welcome. In Dar like in the rest of Tanzania, Swahili is widely spoken although there have been efforts over the years among a growing number of Tanzanian's to speak English. It is very common to find many who can speak Swahili only and can't speak English. It is wise therefore if you are visiting Tanzania to be equipped with basic Swahili phrases.

I cannot end this blog without talking about Tanzanian music. The music industry in Tanzania according to Wikipedia (2012) is said to have seen many changes in the past decade. With a mix of influences from other countries along with the original feel of local musical traditions, Tanzanian musicians have become some of the best artists in East Africa. I have been acquainted with Tanzanian gospel music for some time. Most of the musicians sing their songs in Swahili. Perhaps my earliest encounter was with the song "Hakuna Mungu kama wewe" translated into English as: "There is no God like you" by Kijitonyama Lutheran Church Choir. See video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QB8Tecfapmw. Another gospel musician popular in Tanzania, East Africa and Zambia is Rose Muhando whose song "Nibebe" meaning "Carry me" is simply amazing. Watch video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgpH_JMFNS8. But my visit to Tanzania this time around introduced me to yet another gospel musician, Christina Shusho, who has become my favourite Tanzanian gospel musician. Her songs are simple yet profund and rooted in God's word. Christina has so far released two albums: Unikumbuke (Lord Remember me) and Nipe Macho (Give Me Eyes). A sample of her music can be seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41kCoIyxA-E or http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tlP7xsB0sI&feature=related. Let me leave you to enjoy the music!