Stone Town, Zanzibar, Tanzania (Jeff)

Zanzibar is known as the Spice Island and is part of Tanzania, located 22 miles off the mainland coast. I have unsuccessfully attempted to use this exotic island as a lure to get Ali to accompany me on some Tanzania trips in the past, so it was good to finally see it. I had tried to tempt her with the Zanzibar beaches and resorts but this visit involved exploring Stone Town, the cultural center of this mystical island.

The Arab and African blend creating the Swahili culture is much present in the narrow streets lined with decaying buildings, balconies and Swahili doors. The old town is known for its many hand-carved Swahili doors that are ornately studded with iron or brass spikes to prevent destruction by attacking axes or military elephants. The door frames and doors were the first thing put up when these buildings were constructed.

The island is heavily touristed leading to many hawkers trying to sell identical items. At first they were a plague to us but a monsoon scale rainstorm disbursed even them. We sought refuge in a market but the smells, blood and leaky roof flushed us back outside. We crossed ankle deep water flowing through the narrow streets, found our way to the dock and boarded our ship’s tender, which ferried us home.
The first photo is the monsoon-like rainstorm we experienced.
The second photo is Zanzibar's waterfront.
The third photo is the Swahili doors that were built in Zanzibar.Read more