Facts about Zanzibar

It is located in the Indian Ocean and is part of the Zanzibar Archipelago. The archipelago consists of two larger islands, Zanzibar and Pemba, and several smaller ones. The largest of them is Zanzibar.

Tanzania (United Republic of Tanzania) is a country in eastern Africa created from the merger of former British colonies: Tanganyika (German until World War I) and British Zanzibar. The name was created by combining the first syllables in the names of both countries. The island of Pemba also became part of the federal republic. The capital of Tanzania is Dodoma.

The first inhabitants were Africans from the continent. They traded with India, Arabia, and Persia, whose peoples partially settled the island and enriched its Swahili culture.

In the 16th century, it became a colony of Portugal, and in the 19th century, many Arabs from Oman settled on the island and created a landed elite there. Indians also appeared there, and the English set off from there into Africa.

The population there is dominated by the Hadimu, Tumbatu, and Pembu peoples, as well as descendants of Asians and newcomers from the island of Goa.

The capital is the country's third largest city with a population of approximately 450.000 inhabitants.

The city's architecture is a mixture of Arab, Indian, European, and African cultures. Characteristic are the narrow streets that do not accommodate cars. Transport takes place on foot, on bicycles, or on motorcycles. The walking trail leads through the Palace Museum, which was once the residence of the Sultan of Zanzibar. You can find the tombs of all the island's previous rulers there. Noteworthy are the House of Wonders with a built-in clock tower and an old Arab fort built in the 17th century. Also interesting is the so-called Zanzibar's milestone, a marble pillar with distances to the most important places on the island.

They were built especially on the orders of Sultan Barghash.

Tingatinga is a painting style from the 1960s. Its name comes from the name of Edward Saidi Tingatinga, a self-taught artist who started his career in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

These are traditional Arab sailing ships, with one or more sails. Until the 1960s, dhows operated commercial voyages between the Persian Gulf and the east coast of Africa, using only sails to move the boats. The cargo was containing mainly dates and fish taken to Africa, with mangrove wood taken on the way back.

Clove trees appeared in Zanzibar in 1812 thanks to Saleh ibn Haramil from Muscat, who brought them here from the island of Reunion. However, it was only in the first half of the 19th century, during the rule of the Sultan of Oman, Said ibn Sultan, that Zanzibar became the world's leading producer of spices (nutmeg, saffron, vanilla, cinnamon, etc.), among which the most important was cloves. Zanzibar became a clove power, basing its production on the labor of slaves. It is said that in those days, cloves were more valuable than gold. Currently, Zanzibar ranks third in the global clove production market.

Fishing and tourism are also well-developed.

It was an English-Zanzibar conflict that broke out on August 27, 1896, and lasted 45 minutes. About 600 people died during this war.

It is a traditional belly and hip dance with scarves, stimulating women's internal energy. Girls learn it from an early age.

However, the first street lighting was installed only in 1998.

The massage is performed with the following oils: coconut, ylang ylang, and kraft (cloves in Swahili).

In Zanzibar, it is customary to use some form of local, unofficial solar time.

Injured marine animals come to the reserve and after recovery, they are released into the ocean.

They can be found in Jozani National Park.

They were donated to Zanzibar at the beginning of the 20th century by the government of Seychelles, four in quantity. Today there are many more of them, and the oldest specimen is over 190 years old.

And also jambo, which means "hello", and pole pole, which means slowly in Swahili, because why rush when on vacation?