STONETOWN
10 - 15 MAY
post by scott
Zanzibar… It sounds like a fantastic name conjoured up as the exotic far-off setting for a story about pirates, sunken galleons and treasure hunting. To me it has always been one of those places that you hear about occasionally, but I still wasn’t sure if it actually existed in the real world – like Micronesia or Timbuktoo. After being in landlocked places for almost a month we were both chomping at the bit to get back to the beach, and the small semi-autonomous island of Zanzibar was the perfect option, lying just off the coast of Tanzania and only a short flight away.
A major contributing element to the fantastical appeal of this place is its remarkable history. After a period of Portuguese colonisation, Arabs from the north arrived and established a sultanate which lasted for many centuries and was a focal point in the African slave trade. From here the Arabs launched raids into the heart of mainland Africa, collecting slaves and bringing them back in chains to be sold to buyers from all over the world. Many famous British explorers like Livingstone and Stanley also started their journeys from here across Tanzania towards the Rift Valley and Congo. It was in this melting pot of cultures and ethnicities that the colourful Swahili culture and language evolved.
A major contributing element to the fantastical appeal of this place is its remarkable history. After a period of Portuguese colonisation, Arabs from the north arrived and established a sultanate which lasted for many centuries and was a focal point in the African slave trade. From here the Arabs launched raids into the heart of mainland Africa, collecting slaves and bringing them back in chains to be sold to buyers from all over the world. Many famous British explorers like Livingstone and Stanley also started their journeys from here across Tanzania towards the Rift Valley and Congo. It was in this melting pot of cultures and ethnicities that the colourful Swahili culture and language evolved.
As soon as you arrive in Stowntown it is obvious that Zanzibar is completely different from the rest of east Africa. The air is actually sweetly fragrant with the smell of jasmine and frangipani – a stark contrast to odours experienced elsewhere.. The population is predominantly Muslim and men walk the narrow winding streets in immaculate long white robes and white embroidered caps, while women are covered conservatively. Because everyone lives in each others’ back pockets you can really feel the community atmosphere. People sit with their neighbours in alleyways and courtyards, drinking coffee after prayer or playing checkers while waiting for customers at their shop. Everyone seems to know everyone, and the popular Swahili phrase “poli poli” (slowly slowly) seems to be how they live their lives. Guidebooks will tell you that Stonetown has lost it’s charm due to excessive tourism and persistent hawkers, but we still had our pants charmed clean off.
We stayed at a B&B called Hiliki house run by the hip, young, mohawked Moudy and his smiling assistant Ishmael. He was so helpful that when we couldn’t find a mosquito net ourselves, Moudy walked with us down to the market, sniffed them out and even got us a dirt cheap price. He loved his country dearly, even at this time of year - he gets a chesty cough around winter every year when the temperature plummets from about 34 to 32 degrees Celsius.
|
Our first afternoon was spent down by the waterfront where the shirtless teenage boys were hanging out doing flips down the beach and into the water. Along sandy stretches we would occasionally be startled by a somersaulting man wheeling past right in front of us, having deliberately waited for us to walk by. Street vendors would try to sell you spices from the street or hash from dark doorways, but my favourite was a lazy eyed young man who would gently sidle up beside us and sing the music he was trying to sell on CD. “Jambo, Jambo bwana..” is all I can remember, but Allana finally relented and bought it after 4 days so we can’t wait to get home and hear the rest of the song! (Unfortunately we couldn’t find a CD player before sending it home!)
|
CITY WALk WITH STEVEN
The following day I was mailing the key from our previous hotel back to Arusha when Allana struck up a conversation with a lovely old bloke by the name of Steven. He was one of the many locals offering walking tours around Stonetown so we agreed to meet him later that day to see the sights. First on the agenda was Freddy Mercury’s house where he was born and lived until he was a young boy. Apparently the toothy rock god would occasionally come back and stay here even after he had hit the big time with Queen. We then wandered the disorientating alleyways towards the old slave market, stopping to admire plenty of doors on the way. It seems doors were a big thing back in the day and it seems that people put more effort into their door than the rest of the house. Some Indian designs even had large spikes in place with the purpose of keeping out marauding elephants!!
There was now a church built on the site of the slave market but they had kept some of the old quarters in the basement as a historical site that you could visit. This is where slaves would be kept after arriving by boat from the mainland and prior to being sold on at the market. We walked down a winding stairwell into a cold basement no larger than a child’s bedroom in diameter but without the headroom to stand up. They now had a bulb to supplement the meagre light entering through a narrow slit in the wall, allowing us to fully appreciate just how little space the thirty inhabitants would have had in this tiny room. Our guide told us they were chained around the outside rim and had to use the central area as a communal toilet. It was really shocking stuff to see firsthand just how inhuman humans can be to each other. We then went across to the church where the alter marks the spot of the old whipping post. When brought here slaves would be whipped to test their strength and resilience – those that could handle a lot of punishment were sold for a higher price.
|
On the way home we stopped in at the local markets and picked up a few spices from Mr Ali, or “Diamond” as he liked to be called (because there are many Ali’s but only one Diamond). Even though we knew we would never be able to get fresh vanilla pods home, Diamond gave us his personal guarantee it wouldn't be a problem with customs (ha). After spending the day selling spices at the market, Diamond would go down to the waterfront where he ran a seafood BBQ. No doubt we would see him again!
Although there are not many Masai on Zanzibar they still sell a lot of Masai related souvenirs, including these really cool sandals made from a cut up piece of old motorcycle tyre with rubber straps to hold it on your foot. We had seen lots of the young Masai men wearing these in and around Arusha and the beauty of their design is that the wearer cannot be tracked by their footprints because you don’t know which way they are going! As being tracked is not a huge concern for me I just opted for a pair of regular flip flops, which were also made from recycled tyres. Allana was more impressed by the beautiful beaded sandles, and picked a pair up for Ra.
The photos below show the fresh food and spice markets, some of the small twisty alleyways Stonetown is famous for and also the beautiful Islamic architecture.
Although there are not many Masai on Zanzibar they still sell a lot of Masai related souvenirs, including these really cool sandals made from a cut up piece of old motorcycle tyre with rubber straps to hold it on your foot. We had seen lots of the young Masai men wearing these in and around Arusha and the beauty of their design is that the wearer cannot be tracked by their footprints because you don’t know which way they are going! As being tracked is not a huge concern for me I just opted for a pair of regular flip flops, which were also made from recycled tyres. Allana was more impressed by the beautiful beaded sandles, and picked a pair up for Ra.
The photos below show the fresh food and spice markets, some of the small twisty alleyways Stonetown is famous for and also the beautiful Islamic architecture.
DHOW RIDE
Steven hooked us up with his friend who did sunset dhow rides and it was fantastic. Even though we paid too much and didn’t get the promised cold drinks (all they had was a water bottle full of petrol - it wasn't even chilled), it was romantic and fun to sail across the front stretch of Stonetown and see the place from another angle. I found the mechanics of the boat fascinating too. To make a tack they would untie the sail and pull it around the front of the diagonal boom and then to the other side, using the boats momentum to get them through the turn. The mast was held up by just two support ropes which were swapped to the other side after tacking.
After getting back we found our mate Diamond at his seafood stand and we had an amazing array of fresh seafood skewers for next to nothing.
After getting back we found our mate Diamond at his seafood stand and we had an amazing array of fresh seafood skewers for next to nothing.