Around Arusha

Arusha is a growing town that serves as the starting point for many safaris to the West - mainly the Serengeti and Ngorogoro parks - but is itself by a national park, (Arusha NP of course.) It lies at 1300m altitude on the side of the second largest mountain in Tanzania (Africa?) the 4566m Mt Meru.
The main streets of town are lined with individuals selling handfulls of veggies or fruit from recycled junk turned into stalls, or straight off the pavement.
I hoped to try some fresh Tanzanian coffee that I thought was being brewed Turkish style in a market cafe. Sad to relate, the kettles just had water and the coffee was instant. At 200 TSh though one doesn't want to complain too much.
If the main mosque didn't have Arabic writing along the freize it would look just like all the other churches I passed. Most of them seem to be Lutheran or some sort of Pentacostal. I listened to one where there were two choirs taking turns to woo the audience who were all swaying and clapping in time. It certainly seemed a joyous occasion to them. Just as well since I am told that they can easily go on for 4 hours.
The clock tower is one of the main landmarks as it is the only building on a roundabout. Its claim to fame is that it lies half way between Cape Town and Cairo.Read more