Zanzibar unguja again

What’s up, I am back in the same spot as a week or two ago? Am I bad in travelling or something, did I miss something here that I wanted to revisit? (Did I actually meet a prostitute on the island that I fell in love with? )

Well, no, here is the thing: cycling was too hot, I went diving, and now decided I will go back to dark es salaam to take the train at some point, so just chilling it with plenty of other tourists in zanzibar for two days. And I missed the old slave market last time I was here, which I had to go and visit.

I made a new footprint to elaborate more on zanzibar. Because it’s touristic, and it’s busy, and it’s too busy with busy tourism. It’s too busy in that, through the super small alleyways and between the zigzag of small alleys, you constantly bump into small “taxis” or motorcycles. You are also not allowed to be tired here, or you will be punished by the city immediately and mercilessly: the honking and motorcycles make it impossible. (Nice thing is that I am immediately tired due to the heat…)

It’s too touristy in that everyone wants something of you; that you have shops called “the souvenir emporium” (cringe); and that you have ten (easily; Turkish markets dont come close) of the same shops selling (or trying to) the same thing—masaai people selling their armbands and necklaces. And that you have to be careful about not being ripped off.

What is cool about the tourism is that you can find good specialty coffee shops and feel like at home. I had a decent espresso by my standards, which was really something new. Also, and this is because tourism and because of the diverse heritage of Zanzibar, you have lassi here at some places, which is my favourite cool drink by far in the heat. Ayran but better.

That is the thing about Zanzibar, it has a history of belonging to Portuguez, Oman, and Britain (Germany only controlled towns inland I believe), and for a long time there was a sultan of zanzibar, and it was a prosperous place due to very successful plantations (centering on cloves) and due to the ports, making the city very very rich and prosperous. (I also read that “ ...It might be called Stinkabar rather than Zanzibar”, because it smelled so bad 150 years ago). But around the 18th century, slavery became one of the most profitable business— I learned that slavery, even amongst blacks (different tribes) was very common before the Arabs or Portuguez started it, but the Omans and Arabs made it into a business on the island. (Moslims cannot take moslims as slaves, but no issue with blacks.) All blacks on the island were slaves during the 18th century, under the Sultans rule, and Zanzibar hosted a primary slavery market for entire east africa. Plus of course the plantation slaves. This made for a lot of islamic influences, arab people, and indian people living here; it also made for a lot of slavery of blacks, and slavery was the most profitable business on this island. (All blacks living here were apparently slaves…) About a third went to work on clove and coconut plantations of Zanzibar and Pemba while the rest were exported to Persia, Arabia, the Ottoman Empire and Egypt. (Pasted from wikipedia)

It was worth coming back here, as I managed to ask a lot of questions to the ticket clerk at the museum, who was a historian. So I learned that slavery was only made worse by degree by Portuguese and Arabs, that the British might have said to want to abolish slavery early in the nineteenth century, but it would have sucked too much economically, so they held off for a bit, and about some blacks being employed as slave porters (and in fact becoming rich sometimes doing this) for the Arabs; in fact Tippu Tip (one of the most powerful slave traders) descended from a black and someone from Oman. Slavery was just business: frequently also a business to transport ivory, say, so a means to an end.

Lastly, Zanzibars road to independence (going through the British and back to a Sultan) was not without bloodshed, when there was a revolt and several thousand ethnic Arab (5,000-12,000 Zanzibaris of Arabic descent) and Indian civilians were murdered and thousands more detained or expelled, their property either confiscated or destroyed.

Currently this town is just full of it’s own character, and not being anything like other towns I have seen. But also touristy. And busy.Read more