Zanzibar
We arrived before sunrise at the exotic island of Zanzibar, just in time to witness the ancient tradition of the fishing and trading dhows departing the harbor. The interior of the island about the main city was in a bluish haze as countless households began the day with charcoal cooking fires as even today few people can afford gas.
Zanzibar…even the sound of the name of the place evokes feelings of adventure and mystery. It has had a long history as an important Arab trading center, part of the Swahili Coast, giving Arab traders access to vital African commodities such as ivory, ebony and other hardwoods, rhinoceros horns, and sadly, slaves. The Portuguese explorers of the early 16th century, in their quest to gain control of the European trade with Africa and the Orient, saw the value of Zanzibar and almost immediately took it by force from the Arabs. The Portuguese controlled it for nearly two centuries until the Omani Sultanate won it back in 1698. In the 18th century, plantations of nutmeg and cloves were established in Zanzibar and successfully broke the monopoly of the Dutch East Indies spice trade. In the 19th century, Zanzibar became the preferred place for European explorers to gain access to the interior of the Dark Continent, and in the latter part of the century when European powers began colonizing Africa, Britain gradually gained control of Zanzibar and made it a protectorate in 1890. The island became independent from Britain in 1963, but immediately suffered a terrible civil war that cost thousands of lives until it (and its sister island Pemba) was subsumed the following year by newly-independent Tanganyika… thus forming The United Republic of Tanzania (formed from a combination of both names). Even so, Zanzibar today maintains a considerable degree of autonomy.
This morning, right after breakfast (and Clearance) we set off to the hinterlands of the island for a chance to see some of its natural history as well as one of the famous spice plantations. Some of us went straight to Jozani-Chwaka Bay National Park, an immense reserve of some 5,000 hectares that includes an impressive mahogany forest that has regrown since the mid-20th century when it was logged out, an extensive pandanus or screwpine forest (see photo above), and a very important mangrove estuary. We had time to explore all three habitats, as well as spend time with some rare, endemic Zanzibar red colobus monkeys (see photo above). Another monkey species, the blue or Sykes monkey, was also seen during our forest walk, but was a bit shyer and not so easily photographed.
We heard lots of birds high up in the forest canopy, although they were not very easy to view or photograph from the ground. Most of us also spent time at one of the spice plantations this morning and got a chance to see the plants that produce common spices that we tend to take for granted nowadays. Spices were much more important in the distant past, however, because before the days of refrigeration they were necessary to render many foods palatable when proper preservation techniques were not possible. Meat had to be dried, smoked, salted, and/or pickled in order to last any length of time. Some spices were literally worth their weight in gold.
In the afternoon, we had a chance to explore Stone Town, an 18th century collection of buildings constructed primarily with coral blocks, island cement, mud, and coconut oil. Many of them still have their original intricately-carved wooden doors. It is a very photogenic region of the city that is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Walking around the narrow alleyways and poking into shops along the way was rather mind-boggling…a person could easily get lost in here.
One of the most interesting stops on our walking tour was at the Old Slave Market, where we saw the terrible conditions endured by the unfortunate people forced into this despicable commerce. A short distance away, next to the Anglican cathedral that was built on a site chosen by David Livingstone, we viewed the very moving slave memorial made by Clara Sörnäs in 1997 (see photo above).
At the end of the day, as we sailed from Zanzibar, we saw many of the same dhows observed this morning return to their harbor as the sun set.
We arrived before sunrise at the exotic island of Zanzibar, just in time to witness the ancient tradition of the fishing and trading dhows departing the harbor. The interior of the island about the main city was in a bluish haze as countless households began the day with charcoal cooking fires as even today few people can afford gas.
Zanzibar…even the sound of the name of the place evokes feelings of adventure and mystery. It has had a long history as an important Arab trading center, part of the Swahili Coast, giving Arab traders access to vital African commodities such as ivory, ebony and other hardwoods, rhinoceros horns, and sadly, slaves. The Portuguese explorers of the early 16th century, in their quest to gain control of the European trade with Africa and the Orient, saw the value of Zanzibar and almost immediately took it by force from the Arabs. The Portuguese controlled it for nearly two centuries until the Omani Sultanate won it back in 1698. In the 18th century, plantations of nutmeg and cloves were established in Zanzibar and successfully broke the monopoly of the Dutch East Indies spice trade. In the 19th century, Zanzibar became the preferred place for European explorers to gain access to the interior of the Dark Continent, and in the latter part of the century when European powers began colonizing Africa, Britain gradually gained control of Zanzibar and made it a protectorate in 1890. The island became independent from Britain in 1963, but immediately suffered a terrible civil war that cost thousands of lives until it (and its sister island Pemba) was subsumed the following year by newly-independent Tanganyika… thus forming The United Republic of Tanzania (formed from a combination of both names). Even so, Zanzibar today maintains a considerable degree of autonomy.
This morning, right after breakfast (and Clearance) we set off to the hinterlands of the island for a chance to see some of its natural history as well as one of the famous spice plantations. Some of us went straight to Jozani-Chwaka Bay National Park, an immense reserve of some 5,000 hectares that includes an impressive mahogany forest that has regrown since the mid-20th century when it was logged out, an extensive pandanus or screwpine forest (see photo above), and a very important mangrove estuary. We had time to explore all three habitats, as well as spend time with some rare, endemic Zanzibar red colobus monkeys (see photo above). Another monkey species, the blue or Sykes monkey, was also seen during our forest walk, but was a bit shyer and not so easily photographed.
We heard lots of birds high up in the forest canopy, although they were not very easy to view or photograph from the ground. Most of us also spent time at one of the spice plantations this morning and got a chance to see the plants that produce common spices that we tend to take for granted nowadays. Spices were much more important in the distant past, however, because before the days of refrigeration they were necessary to render many foods palatable when proper preservation techniques were not possible. Meat had to be dried, smoked, salted, and/or pickled in order to last any length of time. Some spices were literally worth their weight in gold.
In the afternoon, we had a chance to explore Stone Town, an 18th century collection of buildings constructed primarily with coral blocks, island cement, mud, and coconut oil. Many of them still have their original intricately-carved wooden doors. It is a very photogenic region of the city that is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Walking around the narrow alleyways and poking into shops along the way was rather mind-boggling…a person could easily get lost in here.
One of the most interesting stops on our walking tour was at the Old Slave Market, where we saw the terrible conditions endured by the unfortunate people forced into this despicable commerce. A short distance away, next to the Anglican cathedral that was built on a site chosen by David Livingstone, we viewed the very moving slave memorial made by Clara Sörnäs in 1997 (see photo above).
At the end of the day, as we sailed from Zanzibar, we saw many of the same dhows observed this morning return to their harbor as the sun set.
