Tanzania (2). Zanzibar island
When I think of central Africa, various exotic images pop up in my head – lions roaring, giraffes leaning from above and vast orange fields appearing with kids shouting “Bonbons, bonbons!” It never crossed my mind that next to this breathtaking nature sightseeing I could find an old town with beautiful architecture and a cosy labyrinth of narrow streets. After visiting Madagascar, Comoros, Kenya, and continental Tanzania, I was not looking for or expecting anything like Zanzibar.
Stonetown
Stone Town on Zanzibar Island is a real gem. Cosy narrow old streets, so similar to those of old European towns yet so unique due to their Arabic decorations and African, Indian and Arab mixed population.
Zanzibar used to be a major trading centre between Africa, India, and the Middle East. This is why it is so different from other Central African cities. It shows it was once a rich and vital city. Today Zanzibar belongs to Tanzania, but it has some level of autonomy. Stone Town, proudly included in UNESCO Heritage, is a centre or capital of Zanzibar Island.
When walking round the labyrinth of Stone Town’s streets, one thing catches your eye – the doors. There are plenty of them, each one more beautiful than the last. Every entrance is a new piece of art.
I always thought that Rome has the most beautiful, stylish, big, wooden doors. Nothing compares to Rome in my heart, but when it comes to the doors, Zanzibar beats the competition.
Did you know that Freddy Mercury was from Zanzibar? One of the most popular tourist attractions in Stone Town is to visit Mercury’s house.
This is our exotic hotel with an even more exotic dining terrace.
There is something in the architecture of Zanzibar that reminds me of Istanbul. It’s not just the architecture – one very common thing is cats everywhere. They are not so loved and taken care of as in Istanbul, but you will see them on every corner. Just sit down at some restaurant, and one will definitely rub against you.
Zanzibar is a Muslim town, and only here I discovered that Muslims consider dogs to be “dirty.” They cannot pray after a dog has licked them, so cats win as the preferred domestic animals also due to religious reasons.
Stone Town’s beautiful centre has a little district of soviet houses just outside the centre. At first, I could not understand or believe it. Russia is so far away, as is Eastern Europe; how come I was seeing this in Africa? Then I read somewhere that in exchange for some political support, Soviets gave this wonderful “gift” to Zanzibar. The beauty of the world spreads widely; apparently so does the beast.
Food
There is a lot of fresh fish and seafood, a delicious mix of Indian, African, and Arabic cuisines, and a lot of spices and flavour. Zanzibar exports a lot of spices, and this is felt in their cuisine as well. The most typical meals are grilled and curry dishes. It seems that locals do not appreciate seafood so much themselves, but due to high demand by tourists, it is easy to find.
In the evening, the coast becomes one big picnic with loads of street food to choose from. It is like huge buffet restaurant where you can try various local dishes. It is not just for tourists; many local people come here. This place is trendy among students and younger citizens; they come here to hang out and to eat, but also to dance and even organize performances. While enjoying the food you can watch various acrobatic and street dancing shows at the coast.
On top of this, there are plenty of restaurants, from very luxurious and touristic venues to plenty of simple local but excellent food places.
We travelled to Tanzania in April, and it was still the rainy season. While we did not see any rain during our trip before coming to Zanzibar, in Zanzibar we learned that even though it is several hours and not an ordinary matter, when it rains, it rains cats and dogs. For half a day Zanzibar became a lake park, but the next morning it was all dry again.
Transport in Zanzibar
There are loads of taxis, which are the preferred transport of tourists, and plenty of public transport minibuses, which are fine to use. However, it seems that tourists rarely use them. Once we even got a compliment from an old local man – just as we were getting off the bus, he said something like, “Thank you guys for travelling with us as locals do.”
Zanzibar beaches
It was Easter Sunday. No chocolate eggs for us (obviously Easter is not celebrated in Muslim Zanzibar), but beaches of the whitest sand, sun, and sea all around made it a great festive day for us. The water was warm, the sun bright, but there was nobody around. Most hotels and shops were closed because of the low tourism season. Because of the rainy season, we sacrificed some precious vacation hours to the rain, but the day after we had the privilege of having a private silent wonderful beach just for us. Don’t be afraid to go to Zanzibar during the rainy season if you appreciate solitude.
Have you ever seen cows on the beach? I hadn’t before I came to Zanzibar. Look at those animals; it’s clear which ones were using sun protection.
Just a little bit further away there was a place for kiting and other wind-sports.
New Easter habits.
Beach shopping area
New Easter slogan: “Hakuna Matata!” meaning “no problem, that’s alright.”
Dress code in Zanzibar
It is a Muslim island, however it’s very touristic and no strict dress code applies to men or women. Local women cover their hair and wear the long covering Muslim outfit, but it is not mandatory for tourists. Maybe out of respect it’s better not to show too much bare skin. Dress conservatively and comfortably, and it will be fine.
What I didn’t like in Zanzibar
Each place, even if I love it, has something not so appealing. In Zanzibar, for me, it was the annoying attention of salespeople on every corner. They stopped us on the street, pulled us to enter the shops, and if we dared to take a look at something, endless price negotiation started even after we had clearly stated that we were not interested in purchasing anything. After some hours of polite smiling and sincere interest to talk to locals, my Nordic blood kicked in. I just wanted my personal space (the Northern European standard would be about two meters around): to put on headphones and sunglasses, and just be ignored.
Zanzibar is a very touristic place and most people live from tourism here. We visited it during a low or no tourist season, so I can imagine the level of sales “attacks” when it is a peak season.
Dar es Salaam
The last stop was Dar es Salaam, the largest city in Tanzania. The little central area is very modern, but all the rest is just one of those busy, dusty big cities. Considering all the other options for things to do in Tanzania – safari, beaches, walks in Stone Town, Kilimanjaro hiking – I would not dedicate any limited vacation time to this big city.
However, if you have some time in Dar es Salaam (we were waiting for our return flight), consider national holidays. We found the whole city closed on Easter Monday, so carefully calculated our last coins and shared a little snack. It is a hungry life when all banks and restaurants are closed.
Shopping. Souvenirs. Tanzanite gems
If you are into shopping, there are loads of souvenir shops and beach-style outfit shops. I did not see any international brand shops anywhere, but neither were we searching for them. In Zanzibar negotiating is crucial. Be smart. We happened to buy some real saffron and some orange colour powder. The owner of our hotel immediately spotted a fake product, while we did not. And when I proudly told him how much I managed to negotiate from the original price, he modestly mumbled, “For tourists it is good.” In the outside markets, don’t be shy to cut the prices even to half of what they ask in the first place.
If you are interested in getting a higher-value gift for yourself or your loved ones, consider shopping for jewellery with unique tanzanite. Tanzanite is a blue gem, 1000 times rarer than diamond, found exclusively in a small area at Kilimanjaro.
Tiffany & Co. company named it Tanzanite because of origin and in their advertisements told it to be found only in two places “in Tanzania and at Tiffany’s.” Price-wise I bet it is cheaper in Tanzania.
One famous museum (for shopping and just experience) of tanzanite is in Arusha, but there are more shops in Zanzibar and Dar es Salaam (including the airport duty-free) selling certified tanzanite gems and jewellery.
I am not an expert in gems, but this one I happened to experience very personally. It was five months later when I found out that Adriano secretly, silently from Tanzania carried my lovely engagement ring back with us and waited for a special day during another trip on the silk road. It is a beautiful memory of Tanzania which I wear every day now.
My conclusion on Tanzania
Tanzania is likely to become a big hit for vacation destinations. It is a well-organized, civilized, clean and safe country. In my very personal opinion, it is much more interesting than the highly overrated Caribbean or Mauritius for example. Here is why:
- The white beaches are fantastic.
- On top of this, there are many adventure activities to choose from – opt-in for a safari tour in Serengeti, go for a day trip to Ngorongoro National park, climb Kilimanjaro (the highest African mountain), visit wild Maasai villages.
- Cultural experience! UNESCO Heritage Stone Town has plenty of history, and a beautiful and unique mix of African-Arab architecture. This city has a soul, its very own character – it’s absolutely worth a visit.
- Good local food, a fascinating Arab/Indian/African cuisine mix.
- Big range of hotels and restaurants for everybody’s taste. It is considerably cheap.
- Tanzania has that excitement of visiting the real Africa, experiencing something very different from Western-style resorts, but on the other hand, it is a safe choice. It looks to be a calm, trouble-free, well-developed African country.
Unfortunately, it is still quite poor and already very touristic. Hence local street sellers will bother you a lot trying to sell stuff. On the other hand, because it is touristic, the local people speak fluent English, and it is easy to arrange various tours and transport.
The only challenge I see is the need for anti-malarial pills and some vaccinations. There are no mandatory vaccines; neither are anti-malarial medicines, just highly recommended (see UK recommendations for travellers to Tanzania). Don’t overthink it, just get it all done in one day, buy some pills in a pharmacy, dress up smartly and be safe. From my personal multi-time experience I had no side effects or discomfort from anti-malarial pills. Tanzania is very much worth this little trouble.
Dar es Salaam
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