The Zanzibar archipelago includes over 50 islands, set in the beautiful Indian Ocean. The main island is Unguja and we stayed in the main town, Stonetown over night.  We arrived in on a small propeller plane on a very hot afternoon. But before that I must tell something I did which is most out of character for me.

The airport in Arusha is little more than a cobbled together set of shacks. While we were waiting for the flight we all had our phones, tablets and cameras out swapping photos.  Stuff everywhere. When we eventually were called to board, a short walk across the tarmac, there was a mad scramble to pick up our belongings.  Mercifully, just at the bottom of the steps of the plane, I checked my handbag for my phone and there it wasn’t. I tore back to where we had been sitting, aware that I only had minutes before take off, and it must have been the look of panic on my face, but a couple of people approached me to ask had I left my phone behind.  A man was just on his way to security with it.Seconds later and I would have missed him.  Delighted to see such honesty amidst such poverty. Not sure it would happen in Dublin.

On arrival at our friendly family run hotel, we met the owner and were assigned our big comfortable rooms.  Great to be in a bed again! And to have our very own bathroom. Exodus had arranged for us to meet a local guide who gave us options of some tours.  We elected to do a walking tour of Stonetown the following morning, followed by a visit to a spice plantation. There was an also option to visit Prison Island where they have giant tortoises from the Seychelles. We didn’t bother with this.

Over 90% of the population here is Muslim but the Muslims and Christians seems to live peacefully side by side and made a point of building mosques and churches alongside each other. The buildings are made from Coral “stone”, hence the name. There is a quaint crumbling feel to the town. But also a great buzz of activity.

Zanzibar was an important trading center in the 19th century. It was a flourishing center for the spice trade and the notorious slave trade. Slaves were brought here from Central and East Africa and were mainly sent to Arab countries. There is a real mix of cultural influences – Arabian, European, Persian and Indian.

The prosperous merchant/trading class built substantial stone houses and had impressive wooden doors carved to depict their particular trade. A carved linked chain going around the edge of the doorway meant the family were involved in the slave trade. Likewise, cloves etc for the spice traders. Large brass spikes were mounted onto the doors – a sign of wealth and a throwback to a fashion of the time in Indian.  In India, these spikes were used to keep elephants from leaning against their doors.

Tipu Tip was a powerful merchant and infamously cruel slave-trader who lived here in Suicide Alley between 1837 and 1905. He had a big wooden door but neglected to add the carved chains. He was hiding the fact that he was a slave-trader. Aptly enough he also spent time in the Belgian Congo. I bet he felt right at home there!! The locals to this day despise him and as a mark of respect fling their rubbish onto his grave.

The market was alive with every kind of fruit, veg, fish and spice. We managed to quickly take a few photos but no time allowed for shopping. We did stop for a rest in a coffee house but forgot to buy any fresh coffee. Don’t know where our heads were at.

At this stage, even though it was only about 10am, the day was already very hot and sticky. We passed by the slave museum but after a couple of very brutal stories from our guide, we opted not go inside but instead continued our walk around the town.

 

In the afternoon, we headed off to a spice plantation. A community of about 300 people live on the plantation, our guide amongst them. He walked us around a lush, forested plantation where we saw a vast array of spices growing. Pepper, cloves, nutmeg, turmeric, vanilla and more. We enjoyed a lunch prepared by some local women. Sat on a mat around a large pot of chicken stew and rice watched closely by a group of shy children and a few of the women. Really tasty. With lots of food left over (to the children’s delight), we continued on our walk. We got to buy some spices and enjoyed tea and fresh fruit. I normally only like real tea. But I loved the ginger tea.

Our packed schedule was not over yet.  After the tour of the spice farm we headed to a beach resort in the north of the island, Nungwi, a couple of hours drive away. We would have loved to have spent more time in Stonetown. Lots of little shops, places to eat, bars and a couple of very posh looking hotels. Definitely a destination.

Next blog will be from Nungwi, and it will be the last.