Zanzibar

Whenever I first heard we were going to Zanzibar it conjured up visions in my head of palaces, clear blue seas, cloves, and Arabic music. Zanzibar did not disappoint. From the moment we stepped off the ferry ride from Dar, we entered a new world. The Arabic influence is easily seen throughout the island, and the scenery was nothing like anything else we had seen so far in Tanzania.

For those who don’t know, Zanzibar is a group of small island in the Indian ocean off the coast of Tanzania. It is a part of the Republic of Tanzania, but at one time was independent. It has its own government system (including a president) and the capital is located on the biggest island of Zanzibar, Unguja, in Stone Town, a World Historic Site.

Walking down the street in Stone Town, I felt like I was in a movie. The buildings are built extremely close together, creating a maze of alley ways so tight that many cars cannot drive through the streets there. The buildings have a mixture of Arab, Persian, Indian, and African architecture. Many of the doors to the building are huge with dark wood and ornate carvings.

In Stone Town we visited the market place, which was a very interesting experiences. We wound through streets and alleys full of people hawking their fruits, vegetables, spices, chickens, meat (VERY freshly slaughtered), and seafood. Let’s just say after that venture I am pretty sure returning to vegetarianism is in my future (and I might be cutting out seafood too).

While there, we also got to see the famous Durian, more commonly known as “stink fruit”. Also seen on Bizarre Foods, this fruit gets its name from the very distinct sewage – like smell the fruit emits when cut open. The smell is so pungent, that the fruit is not allowed in some public places like buses or public buildings. Despite the strong stench, the fruit apparently has a great taste. This leads me to wonder, what conversation transpired the first time this fruit was tried?

Man 1: What is this strange fruit?

Man 2: I don’t know, but when I cut it open it smells awful – just like feces!

Man 1: Oh, well we should definitely try it then.

Man 2:: Your right, with the smell of raw sewage, it must taste really good.

What????????????????????????????????????

We also visited the House of Wonders. This building was built in the late 1800s by a sultan. It was meant to be a ceremonial palace and reception hall and showcased modern conveniences like electricity. It now is a museum and culture center. We also visited the Sultan’s palace, which was the home to several sultans before being turned in to a museum where visitors can walk through and see how the sultan lived.

Zanzibar was once an important slave trade site for Eastern Africa. The slave trade was controlled by the Omani Sultans, who later closed the trade due to pressure from Europe. We visited the slave underground holdings, which is where slaves where kept while they were waiting to be auctioned off. Over 70 men, women, and children were stuffed into a tiny cramped room with little ventilation and no food or water. There was a large trench dug into the bottom of the cell for the tide to come in and wash away the sewage that collected.

Slaves were taken from these small cells to a whipping post where they were whipped publicly. Slaves who cried or yelled out sold for a lower price. After they were auctioned off, they were forced on to ships and sent overseas. Even after the slave trade was declared illegal, it continued for many years on Zanzibar.

Several of the churches played a part in trying to abolish slavery on Zanzibar, and so it seems oddly appropriate that the Anglican church was built over where slave auctions where held. There is a small red circle at the altar at the front of the church that denotes where the whipping post used to stand.

That night we attended the Zanzibar International Film Festival which happened to be going on the week we were in Zanzibar. The night’s festivities were held outside in an old fort. The president’s wife attended the screening and we got to see her speak (in Swahili). The film that happened to be showing when we arrived, was actually a film from the United States called No Woman, No Cry. The president of Zanzibar saw the film and insisted it be showed at the film festival. The film explores reproductive health options for women going in to labor in four very different parts of the world, including one woman in Tanzania. I definitely recommend the film if you have not seen it.

After the film festival we headed home to our beach bungalow and fell asleep to the sounds of the Indian ocean crashing on the beach.