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An afternoon strolling through the
narrow streets and winding alleys of
historic Stone Town, the capital of
Zanzibar, is not to be missed. You’ll
get lost – everybody does – but don’t
worry, you’ll emerge from the cool,
shady lanes into the blinding sunlight
of the seafront eventually.
Until then, you’ll find something of
interest around every corner – an Arab
archway leading into a white-walled
square, with the sound of prayer coming
from behind the walls of a mosque. Or
perhaps you’ll stumble upon the Darajani
market, with symmetrical piles of
oranges, baskets of spices and enormous
chunks of fresh fish arranged under
palm-thatch shelters. Ladies will glide
past, shrouded in black Islamic
headdresses. Old, long-bearded men in
white skull caps will look up from their
games of Bao or dominoes to greet you
gravely as you pass, and small children
will take your hand and invite you to
join their games in the overgrown
remains of Indian townhouses. Remember
to keep looking up, below a blue strip
of sky, ornate shutters are thrown open
and neighbours lean across the narrow
gap between their homes to swap gossip
and jokes, hang out washing, or just
watch the world go by three stories
below.
Look out for Arabic coffee sellers,
strolling along the streets with their
charcoal braziers and bronze pots
hanging from a yoke across their
shoulders. Or porters manoeuvring
wheelbarrows almost as wide as the
alleyways they’re passing through,
shouting ‘hodi, hodi’ (let me pass). As
evening falls, the seafront comes alive
with stalls selling fried seafood and
chicken on skewers, hurricane lamps
illuminating piles of squid and octopus
and mounds of chips. Sugar cane is
pressed through an antique mangle and
funnelled into glasses - cool, sweet and
instantly refreshing. Small boys strip
naked and leap off the sea wall into the
oily sea, turning pink as the last rays
of the sun fade and the muezzin begins
his wailing call to evening prayer.
As well as the magic of the streets,
Stone Town has a number of historical
buildings that are worth a look. The
Palace Museum and the Old Fort on the
seafront both house collections of
furniture and clothing from the days of
the sultans, and the Palace Museum has a
room dedicated to Princess Salme,
daughter of Sultan Said, who eloped with
a German businessman in the 19th
century. The Anglican cathedral, built
on the site of the old slave market, has
a crucifix made from the tree under
which the explorer David Livingstone’s
heart was buried. Nearby are the
underground chambers in which slaves
were kept, forced to crouch on stone
shelves less than two feet high.
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TANZANIA
