ZANZIBAR - HISTORY AND CULTURE

When most of the Western world was still sunk in the darkness of the Middle Ages, Zanzibar was already a meeting place for traders from the great Oriental culture-China, Persia and Arabia. It nestled in the middle of it’s own mercantile civilization, stretching from Somalia in the north down the coast of East Africa to Mozambique in the south. This kingdom and it’s inhabitants were known as Swahili-people of the coast. They traded gold, ivory and cloth with visitors from across the Indian Ocean, built handsome stone houses and had well developed systems of government. Envoys, merchants and even pirates from as far away as Japan and Russia came to Zanzibar and its environs in sailing ships, blown across the seas by the north east monsoon and returning, their holds laden with trade goods, on the southwest wind.
            The first Europeans to discover Zanzibar were the Portuguese, who arrived in the late fifteenth century. In keeping with their conduct in the rest of their empire, they had little interest in the place beyond keeping it out of the hands of their enemies. They built a fort or two, introduced the sport of bullfighting to Pemba, and a few choice words into Swahili language. In fact, the Portuguese words still in use in Kiswahili give a fairly good impression of how the Portuguese words still in use in Kiswahili give a fairly good impression of how the Portuguese spent their time here: Meza-table. Mvinyo-wine. Pesa-money.
            Chief among the trade visitors to Zanzibar were the Omani Arabs, who had developed one of the most powerful navies in the Indian Ocean, the centre of thriving sea-going commercial empire. The Sultans of Oman accrued immense wealth by mounting slave trading expeditions into the African interior, shipping their captives back to the Persian Gulf and selling tem as household servants or plantation labourers. It was Zanzibar which became the hub of this commercial empire, a handy storehouse for slaves fresh from interior, who could be confined on the island until ships which were to transport them north were made ready.
            In 1828 the flagship of Sultan Seyyid Said, one of Oman’s most powerful and influential rulers, landed at Zanzibar. The Sultan had previously been too busy defending Oman against its many would-be conquerors to visit the island in the person, but he was enhanced by what he saw. In contrast to the dry, rocky desert of Oman, Zanzibar was green, lush and filled with sources of fresh water. More importantly, it had strategic advantages-safe, defensible and closer to the African mainland, the source of his wealth. In 1840 Said moved his entire household to Zanzibar and declared it the new capital of his empire. Said and his many relatives and associates built numerous palaces, bath houses and country manors on Zanzibar, and introduced the commercial farming of the flow of miserable humanity that marched in chains from the regions of the great lakes and beyond, to be sold for ever higher prices in the great slave market in the middle of Stone Town.
            But it couldn’t last. By 1890., the British had put an end to the once-great empire of the Omani sultanate. By a combination of bribery, diplomacy and the odd judicious naval bombardment, Britain abolished the slave trade in East Africa and the Omani sultanate. By a combination of bribery, diplomacy and the odd judicious naval bombardment, Britain abolished the slave trade in East Africa and ultimately declared Zanzibar a protectorate. The then Sultan, Ali, became a British vassal, and between them Britain and Germany carved up the Sultan’s domains, which had once stretched as far as inland as Lake Malawi. Although the Sultans remained nominally on the throne, their power was ended and their wealth used up.
            The era of the British on Zanzibar, which saw the slave market destroyed and an  Anglican cathedral built until in it’s place, lasted until 1963, when power was formerly handed back to the Omani sultans. But the reign of the new Sultan was shortlived-he was ousted in 1964 by violent revolution, and today lives quietly on the south coast of England.
            After the revolution the new Zanzibar government joined with the post-independence government of main-land Tanganyika to form a single state, renamed Tanzania. Zanzibar was run along socialist, single-party lines by the new revolutionary government, and received political support and financial aid from countries such as Bulgaria, East Germany and China. However in the 1980’s the first presidential elections took place, and Zanzibar’s economy slowly became less state controlled, with some private sector enterprise being allowed. The first half of the 1990’s saw the rise of multi-party system of government and the development of Zanzibar’s newest industry-tourism.

Zanzibar’s most famous son Freddy Mercury.
Freddy Mercury, real name Farouk Bulsara, was born in Stone Town, Zanzibar, on September 5th,1946. Freddie’s parents belonged to the Parsee faith, the ancient Zoroastrian religion originating from Persia. Many parsees emigrated to India during and after the Arab conquest to Iran, resulting in a sizeable Parsee population in India, some of which traveled to Zanzibar to work for the British government. Freddy lived in Zanzibar until the age of seven (spending some of his early years in the building that is now Zanzibar Gallery shop on Kenyatta road). At seven he was sent to boarding school in India, returning to Zanzibar occasionally until his parents emigrated to the UK before the revolutionary of 1964. Freddy went to art school in England and eventual rock stardom with his band Queen, becoming the world’s best known Asian pop singer before his untimely death from an Aids-related illness in 1991.

Stone Town.
 No one single attraction can beat an afternoon strolling through the narrow streets and winding alleys of ancient Stone Town, the capital of Zanzibar. You’ll get lost- everybody does-but don’t worry, you’ll emerge from the cool, shady lanes into the binding sunlight of the seafront eventually. Until then, you’ll find something of interest around every corner-an Arab archway leading into white-walled square, with the sound of prayer coming from behind the walls of the mosque. Or perharps you’ll stumble upon the Darajani market, with symmetrical piles of oranges, baskets of species and enormous chunks of fresh fish arranged under palm-thatch shelters. Ladies will glide past, shrouded in Islamic headdresses. Old, long-beared men in white skull caps will look up from their games of Bao or dominoes to greet you gravely as you pass, and small children will take your hand and invite you to join their games in the overgrown remains of Indian townhouses. Remember to keep looking up-below a blue strip of sky, ornate shutters are thrown open and neighbouring lean across the narrow gap between their homes to swap gossip and jokes, hang out washing or just watch the world go by three storeys below.
            Look out for Arabic coffee sellers, strolling along streets with their charcoal braziers and bronze pots hanging from a yoke across their shoulders. Or porters maneuvering  wheelbarrows almost as wide as the alleyways they’re passing through, shouting ‘hodi, hodi’. As evening falls, the seafront comes alive with stalls selling fried fish and chicken on skewers, hurricane lamps illuminating piles of squid and octopus and mounds of chips. Sugarcane is pressed through an antique mangle and funneled into glasses-cool, sweet and instantly refreshing. Small boys strip naked and leap off the sea wall into the oily sea, turning pink as first rays of the sun fade and the muezzin begins his wailing call to evening prayer.
            As well as the magic of the streets, Stone Town does have certain historical buildings that are worth a look. The palace museum and the Old Fort on the seafront both house collections of furniture and clothing from days of the Sultans, and the palace museum has a room dedicated to princess Salme, daughter of Sultan Said who eloped with German businessman in the 19th century. The Anglican cathedral, built on the site of old slave market, has a crucifix made from the tree under which the explorer David Livingstone’s heart was buried. Nearby are the underground chambers in which slaves were kept, forced to crouch on stone shelves less than two feet high.

Spice Tours.
A spice tour is probably the best way of seeing the countryside around Stone Town and meeting rural communities. Any guide or tour company can arrange a spice tour for you, with one of the best known being Mr Mitu’s. Guides will take you on a walking tour of the spice farms at Kizimbani or Kindichi, picking bunches of leaves, fruit and twigs from bushes and inviting you to smell or taste them to guess what they are. Pretty much all the ingredients of the average kitchen spice rack are represented –cinnamon, turmeric,ginger, garlic, chillies, black pepper, nutmeg and vanilla- the list goes on and on. Local children follow you all the way round, making baskets of palm leaves and filling them with flowers to give to you. At lunchtime, you’ll stop in a local house for a meal of spiced pilau rice and curry, followed by sweet Arabic coffee and lemon grass cake. Many spice tours include a visit to the Persian baths built by Sultan Said for his harem, and stop at Fuji beach just outside Stone Town for a swim on the way back. The average price for a group spice is $15, including lunch.

Jozani Forest.
Jozani Forest, about 20 minutes drive outside Stone Town on the main road towards the east coast, is a conservation project aimed at preserving some of the last indigenous forest on the island. The forest is home to unique species of monkey, Kirk’s Red Colobus, as well as the rare forest antelope, Ader’s Duiker and many species of birds. A guided walk through the mangrove trees that form part of the forest takes about an hour. The entrance fee for visiting the forest reserve is $8.

Offshore Islands.
Zanzibar has many offshore islands, many of which provide a stunning location for a day trip or longer stay. Boats to any of the islands off Zanzibar or Pemba can be hired easily from local fishermen-in Stone Town, ask at the ‘big tree’ opposite Mercury’s restaurant on the seafront, or arrange a day trip with one of the tour companies listed in this guide. 

Prison Island.
Prison Island is one of the nearest islands to Stone Town- just fifteen minutes or so by boat. It is also known as Changuu, and its original use was as a prison for renegade slaves punished by their master, an Arab landowner. Later it was taken over as a quarantine station by the British army, and another prison was built but never used. The large house on the island was built by British general Lloyd Mathews, commander of the army of Sultan Bargash.
            Today prison island is a pleasant, if somewhat unexciting, destination for a day trip, with a nature trail that runs around its circumstance, a small beach and giant land tortoises, some of which are reputedly over a hundred years old, in pen. The island has some excellent coral formations just offshore, providing a good opportunity for snorkeling, and the restaurant in Lloyd Mathew’s old house sells snacks and drinks. There is an entrance fee of $4, payable only in US dollars.

Chapwani Island.
A slightly more upmarket choice than Prison Island, Chapwani, or Grave island is the site of a luxury hotel, but day visitors who came to eat and drink in the bar and restaurant are permitted. Chapwani is the site of British naval cementry, final resting place of a British naval cemetery, final resting place of sailors who perished while serving in Zanzibar. The victims of the World War One attack on the HMS Pegasus by the German warship Konigsberg are also buried here. It’s interesting to wander around the graveyard and decipher the ages and causes of death of the servicemen many died from tropical disease, or were killed in skirmishes with local slavers.
            Chapwani also has a beautiful white, sandy beach and a small population of duikers(a type of miniature antelope),as well as some interesting bird life.

Bawe Island.
Bawe Island is further away from Stone Town than Changuu or Chapwani, a good forty five minutes by motorboat, and consequently less visited. It has no facilities of any kind so bring enough food and water with you for whole day. The beach is excellent at low tide, with unusual stone formations, and there is some good snorkeling to be had on the island’s reef.

Chumbe Island.
6 kilometers south of Stone town, surrounded by pristine coral reef, Chumbe Island Coral Park is one of the world’s newest and most successful eco-tourism projects. In 1994 the reef surrounding Chumbe island was created Tanzania’s first Marine National Park. The island itself, covered with lush mangrove forest, is a designated forest reserve. Chumbe Island Coral Park won the British Airways Tourism for Tomorrow Award in 1999, in recognition of seven years’ conservation work carried out in co-operation with local fishermen, now retained as marine wardens. Chumbe island contains a lighthouse, built by British in 1904 and still operational, a ruined Mosque and the lighthouse keeper’s house, now converted into a spectacularly-built education centre and restaurant.
            Visitors can come for the day to snorkel over incredible coral reef, which contains over 90% of all coral species ever recorded in East Africa. The reef, declared the ‘world’s best shallow water coral reef’ by the Austrian Institute of Marine Science, is home to over 370 species of fish, turtles and dolphins. Guided walks are also available through the island’s coral rag forest, intersepersed with intertidal pools and huge baobab trees, which supports a unique flora and wildlife population including the rare- enormous- coconut crab.
            But to experience Chumbe Island properly, stay the right in one of the seven ‘eco-bandas’ that nestle in the forest. Each is a two-storey, private cottage constructed of local materials and decorated with shells, drifted