Zanzibar: Stone Town

We didn't spend much time in the main town, but we did manage to drag Sascha away from the beach for one afternoon. I stayed on into the evening, exploring the maze of small alleys filled with people, bikes, motorbikes, carts, shops and occasional tourists. Zanzibar is 95% muslim, so it is essential to be dressed modestly. The people were very friendly and I always found men (the women tend to avoid contact in the streets) willing to help me when I got lost, which was essentially every time I tried to cross through the town.The influence in the architecture is a mixture of Arab, Indian, Persian, European and African.

In the palace of the Sultans that used to rule Zanzibar.

A traveling wash closet. It closes up into a large case.

Zanzibar is famous for the wooden carved doors all throughout the town. The brass studs are Indian influence - they were supposed to deter elephants from knocking down the doors. But, no elephants on Zanzibar........

The old fort built by the Portugese

Streets of Stone Town

Door of the Anglican Church in Stone Town which was built on the site of the largest slave market in Zanzibar. In fact, the abolition of slavery is connected with the English taking over control of Zanzibar from the Arabs.

These are the cells they kept the slaves in before bringing them out to the market to be sold. This one had 75 people in it.

They kept up to 50 slaves in this cell. The windows were all the size of the one in the middle.

The alter of the Anglican church is built on the whipping post (faint circle on the floor) where the slaves were whipped to test them before the buyers for strength and endurance. Those that didn't cry out got the best price.

Monument to the slaves

The chains are the original chains used.

Sunset in Stone Town

The Eid celebration starts at sundown. Everyone gets dressed up and comes down to the beach and main harbor-side park to picnic. Boys were doing acrobatics in the sand. Kids were everywhere.

Just before sundown, food stalls appeared in the park selling grilled meats, Zanzibar pancakes, fruit, candies, etc.

I settled on a pancake with nutella and mango. The dough has yeast, so it is more like fried bread with a filling. Fillings were anything from meat to sweet things. It turned out that I overpaid for my pancake and the guy came running after me to return the extra 100 shillings (worth maybe 20 cents), somehow finding me among the crowd in the dark. I'm not sure that would have happened in Kenya.

Zanzibar: Life on the Beach

Scenes from the beach in front of Panga Chumvi:

One mode of transportation on the roads and beaches. Otherwise it's by bike or on foot.

We woke up to low tide every morning and the waters full of fishermen and seaweed farmers. Most walk through the waters with a spear and bag looking for Octopus. We had a few meals at the lodge with octopus bought right off the beach. We came home one afternoon to find the cooks on the beach preparing and washing baskets of white snapper. That's what we had for dinner that night!

Just before sunrise....

People walking home from the Eid al-Adha celebration, also called Feast of the Sacrifice.
It honors the willingness of the prophet Ibraham to sacrifice his young first-born son Ismail. Everyone dresses in their best clothes and gathers for prayers and 3 days of feasts in the towns. 

The view from our banda.

On the way to choral reef for some snorkeling with some local fishermen from Watemwe.

 A Dhow

This is actually a hotel, fairly well camouflaged.

The beach along the east coast of Zanzibar. It's known for its incredibly fine, white sand (almost feels like flour) and miles and miles of palm tree lined beach. In the south there are some large Italian resorts, but otherwise things are quiet and we saw mainly locals doing their thing.

Zanzibar: Panga Chumvi

We're back in Nairobi after a wonderful holiday on the Spice Island of Zanzibar. It was a great mixture of relaxing at the beach and exploring the island. Zanzibar has an interesting history involving the Portuguese, the Arabs and then the British, many years at the center of the Slave Trade, and more recently a revolution and the move towards becoming a semi-autonomous region to Tanzania. The island really wants to be its own country and there is a lot of talk about independence among its people, but that doesn't seem to be happening anytime soon.

Here's a little look back at our trip.
The beach and Panga Chumvi:

The Panga Chumvi lodge grounds

relaxing in the hammocks

biking on the beach

Panga Chumvi is in the background

A seaweed farm - the seaweed is sold to the Chinese and Japanese

Sascha with her new friends Hidaya and Anisa who live in Dar es Salam.

Looking for sea treasures, being careful not to step on a sea urchin.