A Tanzania update- from May 2004

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"Sunday, June 20, 2004

Jambo, friends and family,

My time in Tanzania is quickly coming to an end, so this past weekend was my last in Africa for this trip. I hope that there will be more!

I went to Zanzibar this weekend. Zanzibar is a small island just northeast of Dar es Salaam- it’s also called Unjuga. It’s a unique place due to its relationship with Tanzania. It is somewhat independent of Tanzania and has its own president- only having won its independence in the early 60’s. Its history also makes it a really interesting place. Ruled by Sultans for many years (dating back to the late 1700’s), Zanzibar is now democratically ruled. Zanzibar is a famous spice island- once the largest producer of cloves. The whole island is home to maybe 800,000 people or so- the majority of which are part of the conservative Sunni Muslim community. All Zanzibari women wear cloth over their heads- some with full burka’s, but most women, from young to old, where kangas (brightly colored, lightweight cloths with one Swahili phrase on it) over their heads and wrapped around their shoulders with matching kangas made into full-length skirts.

So…that’s the brief brief history (more interesting historical info to come later in this email). I flew over from Dar to Zanzibar on Friday. The flight is only 20 minutes. There is also a ferry, but it costs the same as the flight, is two hours long, and promises bouts of sea-sickness. So, I passed on that one. The plane was quite small- maybe held 20 passengers. I sat in the seat next to the pilot- right up in front by the controls! The flight over is beautiful. First you leave Dar—which from above looks very brown and dusty. Some areas of town where small houses-just cinder blocks and tin roofs, are crammed one on top of the next. Dirt paths for roads…then not a moment later you’re above this beautiful blue-turquoise-green water. The water is so clear that you can see the ocean floor in some places. Not more than 5 minutes later are you approaching the white sand trimmed island of Zanzibar.

At the airport, my friend Matt and I parted ways- he opting for a different hotel. Alexandra- a girl from my hotel in Dar- and I were both going to the same place on the eastern part of the island. The driver from the hotel picked us up in his truck and took us for the hour-long ride to the other side of the island. It was a beautiful drive- through a mangrove forest- and then we stopped along the road and saw the red colobus monkey- an endemic species living in the Jozani forest in Zanzibar. There were ten of them by the road! There was even a “monkey crossing” sign! 

We arrived at Paje Beach- we were both staying at a place called Kinazi Upepo (roughly translated to…breeze through the coconut trees). Small bungalows and bandas (like small cabins) lined the white sand beach. The tide was in and the beautiful water just shimmered in the afternoon sun. The place is run by a young British couple who just acquired the place in January. I stayed in a small bungalow by myself- so precious and quite luxurious for the beach. A double bed with mosquito net, small fan, and bathroom with hot water (!). I was in heaven. I went for a stroll on the beach and was virtually alone the whole time- it’s the low season now so not many people are visiting the island’s beaches, but also Paje is a very remote, low-key beach, so I can’t imagine that even in high season that it’s very busy. The sand is like clay when it’s wet. This white white color and so incredibly soft. Came back, showered, and met Alexandra at the bar for dinner and drinks. We were joined by a handful of people who had come to watch the Euro 2004 soccer games because Kinazi Upepo had one of the only t.v.’s in the area. Swedes, South Africans, Brits, Swiss, people from all over. Great evening.

I awoke unfortunately to the sound of a cement saw at 7 a.m. on Saturday! The place next door was constructing some new bungalows or something. No matter. I got up and had breakfast. Fruits…including shuka shukas (I think that’s what they’re called in Swahili)…a soft spiny outside that’s a deep pink/magenta color- and clear fruit on the inside- like a grape or something…you suck on them and spit out the seed in the middle with most of the flesh still connected. Spent the morning on the beautiful beach- which by noon the tide is so low and was no joke perhaps 100 to 150 yards out (one to one and a half whole football fields).

Made the hour long drive back to “town” to meet my friend Matt later in the evening on Saturday. The drive was beautiful again, and I came in just at dusk. Stone town is very much like a European town with narrow, winding streets. Apartment windows looking into other windows. Our hotel, which used to be a single family residence (but it’s huge!) had so much character. Each room has Zanzibari beds- Zanzibar is also famous for it’s wood carvings and these amazing carved wooden doors on buildings. We walked through town at night to grab dinner- tons of vendors line the waterfront selling food- grilled meats and potatoes and vegetables- reminded us of a fair in the Midwest.

We ate at a restaurant called Mercury’s, named after the late lead singer of Queen, Freddie Mercury. Freddie was born in Zanzibar and the restaurant pays homage to the artist. It was a great meal- followed by an ok- live band that played covers of sappy love songs from the late 80s and 90s.

Sunday, I awoke at about 6 am from what I thought to be the call to prayer from a nearby Mosque, but it went on for about 4 hours! We couldn’t really figure out what it was, but we started our full day in Stone Town. We met up with a guide who took us to the major sites….the palaces and homes of the past Sultans- amazing places with much of the furniture being imported from India and England. Beautiful staircases and amazing wooden doors. We also went to the Old Fort. Zanzibar was bombarded by the British in 1896- in the shortest war ever recorded (who knows really though) 45 minutes. The British didn’t approve of the Sultan’s next son coming into power (he only ruled for 3 days before the bombardment). Zanzibar was a British protectorate- after the bombardment the next son in line, Sultan Hamoud, reigned until 1911.

Our guide, Renaldo, took us through some winding streets where small children ran about- the girls covered of course. We wound through town and ended up at an open air market- full of spices and fruits and vegetables. Markets are my favorite place to really see life in action. A busy Sunday.

The most powerful part of the whole trip was seeing visiting the Anglican church which stands on the very spot of one of the largest slave markets on the eastern African coast. Nearly 50,000 slaves a year were shuffled through this market. Men, women, and children were brought from various far away places in Africa to the market. First, they separated men and women/children and put them in holding cells under ground- no bigger than a space say in reality to hold maybe fifteen people. They would cram 75 or so people in there- all cement- for three days with no food or water to see who the tough to survive would be. Easily people died of suffocation and disease as there were only two small slots in the wall that acted as windows and nowhere to use the restroom but the floor. After three days in the cell, they went up to market where they were tied to a fig tree and beaten. Those that didn’t cry were deemed worthy enough to sell. Those who did cry went back into the cell for three days.

It is thought that over 600,000 slaves were traded during the 40 years that the slave trade existed in Zanzibar until Britain forbade it in its territories in 1873. The Anglican church and other missionaries were also key in bringing the slave trade in Zanzibar to a halt. I was moved almost to tears when we entered the beautiful Anglican church. A marble circle in the floor by the pulpit marks the spot where the fig tree stood- where so many people were demoralized and put through horrible pain. It’s amazing to me what humans were capable of doing to other humans and then justifying it. What’s horrible is that this horrible treatment still exists today in various forms. What was more moving was also how a house of the Lord- built by good-natured and caring people now stands upon a piece of land where such horror existed. It was intense, but I was grateful for the experience and broadened perspective.

That was the somewhat lengthy but not even full account of how my weekend in Zanzibar went. I was so glad to get out of the city and see more of the country. I hope you all found this email interesting. I’m leaving this Friday evening back to the States and will arrive on Sat. I’ll try to write one last email- kind of “signing off” so to speak.

I hope you enjoyed your “trip” through Zanzibar. I surely didn’t do it justice, but I did really enjoy the experience.

All my love,
Erin "