Zanzibar

After the safari ended, my parents and I flew to Zanzibar, an island off the coast of Tanzania. Zanzibar was actually an independent country from Tanganyika (which the mainland used to be called) until the two states merged to become Tanzania in 1964. Zanzibar was colonized by the Portuguese, then the Omani, before becoming a British protectorate and finally gaining independence in 1963. Like the Kenyan coast, Zanzibar's culture is Swahili, a blend of African (mostly Bantu and Cushitic) and Middle Eastern cultures. Zanzibar is a very Muslim society, so even though it is terribly hot and humid, it's respectful to dress modestly, covering the shoulders and most of the leg.

Zanzibar is still so different from the rest of Tanzania that it's easy to imagine that it's still its own country. Indeed, the island is still semi-autonomous and has its own President. It's a beautiful place, filled with narrow alleyways and elaborately carved doors. I do find it to be a bit touristy in some areas, but if you venture outside the regular tourist haunts, you'll find people going about their regular business, buying and selling, praying, chatting with their neighbours, or just sitting and watching the world go by. Children play football in the alleyways as the mangy cats lounging around everywhere look on with bored eyes.

So far we've mostly been doing some shopping (I bought some gorgeous fabrics), and we also took a walking tour of the old part of the city, called Stone Town. Zanzibar was the centre of East Africa's slave trade, until the trade was abolished in the late 1800s. During the tour, we visited the site of the former slave market (where an Anglican church now stands), as well as the horrifying holding cells where slaves were kept before being shipped out. The cells comprised of two rooms, one for men and one for women, which were only about three feet tall, if that. There, slaves were kept for days without food. Many died there, pressed up against the bodies of their terrified, sweaty neighbours.

The island was also a centre of the spice trade, as the hot, humid climate was ideal for spice plantations. We will be doing a spice tour, as well as a visit to the caves where slaves were kept hidden, tomorrow. And today is my birthday! I'm not quite old, but getting there.