Zanzibar, being an island without a bridge, means to get there it is either water or air.
The water route allows an overview of Dar's passenger dock and hi-rising downtown.
The wait for departure allows to look over fellow passengers, some even reading print instead of screens.
"The good ship Kilimanjaro VI...although Mt. Kili and Isle Zanzibar are about a different as can be, it must be the Kili "brand" which leads to it being over used. But note on the bow a more place appropriate name appears: "The Pearl Stone Town".
Zanzibar has been a trading spot for millennia, but it was the arrival of Arabs from Oman, which started the increased urbanization of the port area. Karibu - "welcome!" - is an oft heard word through out Tanzania such as when...
... checking in at a hotel. The Zanzibar Serena Inn is one in a chain established by the Aga Khan Foundation, which works to improve the livelihood of members of the Ismaili sect of Islam, as well as protect and restore places of historical importance in places they live. When this area was a British Colony, many Ismaili were brought from India to staff the bureaucracy, and they stayed, such that the Foundation has many projects, schools, hospitals etc. in many parts of Tanzania.
Mosquito net as textile art.
From a former electronics factory to a 5 Star hotel....
...with Indian Ocean view from breakfast tables, and...
...intriguing wild life along the hallways....great place.
Besides enjoying the Serena, a walk around the streets, and over the utility covers, under the control of the "Stone Town Conservation and Development Authority" is why tourists come here.
And having a knowledgable and personable guide a significant plus: his parents dead, Simon Charles, 27, lives with, and supports, two sibilings still in school, with tour work and film/documentary productions.
The walk took in an overview of the port, and ....
... the fish and meat (and lots of flies) market...
... as well as a basic household wares on the street scene.
And back behind to the old part of Stone Town, where...
...stone streets, and plaster over stone/brick construction,...
...and typical developing countries' chaotic electircal wires ...
... competed with political flags and posters left over from a recent election.
Neighborhood shops, and ...
...very occassional green spaces
As in many cultures, especially tropical ones, courtyards within provide the open space, often not accessible to the wandering tourists.
In case you need to say "This is the real thing!" in Swahili...
"Tipu Tip"'s House, 1880's. "Tip" was an Arab trader who did well, especially in the slave trade, and built a large house with a grand main entry door. Typical to much Islamic art, it features repetitive geometric elements, and ...
... delicate flowing organic motifs.
As the scaffolding suggests, restoration is a goal, but as the lack of current work attests to, rescources to do so are limited.
Well, at least of many, however the Aga Kahn Foundation has been active. A large mosque and attached madarassa...
...has been fully restored.
As has the "Old Dispensary", an 1890's clinic and pharmacy.
It fell into disuse in the 1960's, but in the 1990's it was restored and now is the Stone Town Cultural Centre.
The 1880's ceremonial hall, known as the House of Wonders, due to it being the first building with electricity, has not fared as well. It was repurposed as a Museum of History and Culture, but that failed, and its closed awaiting better days.
Many private inititives have been successful. The Emerson Spice Hotel is housed in a restored wealthy merchant's resident, and....
...this boutique inn is ....
...set in a more modest repurposed residence.
Of the many architectual aspects of Stone Town, its the doors for which it is famous.
How about it, there are many properties waiting to be turned into the next Inn or Airb&b...
