There are some destinations in Africa, like Zanzibar, that must be on one’s bucket list as a tourist's paradise. I have had the privilege to visit The Spice Island, as it is better known, twice so far and still look forward to another trip. The decision was arrived at after realizing that our annual trip to the Coast, mostly Mombasa County, was starting to become boring and routine. As the saying goes: a change is always as good as a rest.
The island is one of the two, the other is Pemba, which are part of mainland Tangayika which merged in early 1960s to form Republic of Tanzania, after an abortive coup by a so-called Field Marshall Okello, to depose the Omani rulers shortly after the British government gave up the colony and Mwalimu Julius Nyerere was sworn in as its first President.
Zanzibar had 1.3 million population a decade ago; it is inhabited mostly by ethnic Swahili, a Bantu population of sub-Saharan Africans; it also has a number of Arabs, as well as some ethnic Persians (Iranians) and Indian people.
I guess I've always had a soft spot for islands since my childhood days thanks to my mother, whose parents hailed from Rusinga Island in Homa Bay County, Nyanza Region. Most of our school holidays were split and spent with our maternal and paternal grandparents in Rusinga Island and in Lambwe Valley, also in Homa Bay County, respectively.
Passion for Islands
So, when my wife, Rosemary, and children, Biko and Terry, had to pick a holiday destination, Zanzibar came naturally to mind with images of its many exotic beaches, famous spice plantations and diverse history.
Another reason was that the island had featured prominently in our history lessons both in primary and secondary school with stories about occupation by the Omani Arabs and leaders like Said Lamb we and Said Bargash, among others from the 17 centuries onwards and the biggest slave market in East Africa among others.
The archipelago is 15 Kilometres from Dar es Salaam on the Tanzanian mainland and is also renowned for its annual Zanzibar International Food Festival and Zanzibar International Film Festival.
We were also taught about the East African slave trade with a big market in Zanzibar of the victims from the mainland in present day Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania sold to the highest bidders and transported by ship to Middle East, Asia, Europe and the America's.
For our wedding honeymoon in September, 1999, I had identified Zanzibar, but dropped it after the wedding budget hit the roof and instead opted for Lamu Island, another ideal hidden tourist destination at that time. It is a hidden gem in Kenya on the Indian Ocean near the Kenya-Somali border.
Paradise island
The beauty of Zanzibar starts with the unique sweet name, white sands and clan beaches; rich history and the laid-back culture and warm reception by the residents and tour guides.
On our first visit, we flew from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi to Zanzibar International Airport in the evening one-hour flight. Half of the passengers were from Europe and America and looked as excited as we were to land and sample what the tiny island had to offer tourists, like us.
We were given a warm smile and welcome by the customs and immigration who ushered us to the arrivals lounge where we met my wife's friend, Fatuma's driver who doubled as our tour guide throughout our four-day holiday.
She hosted us and made us feel at home in her Indian-Arab culture which was reflected in the interior design, furniture and choice of refreshments, meals and lifestyle. She was one of the organisers of the annual Zanzibar International Film Festival, and had invited my wife earlier but she was unable to attend.
Annual Zanzibar Film Festival
Her driver drove us to her flat in downtown Zanzibar, in the Stone Town, near the Zanzibar Port and Harbour, where she had reserved one of the three floors for us in her well-furnished residence used as a home stay.
Day one started with a hot cup of spiced coffee and of tea laced with some of the best spices the island is renowned for like cloves among others with biting. We then took a morning walk to the beach stone’s throw away, next to the famous House of Wonder, Public beach popularly used for family outings, open air movies, and walk-through assortment of sea food delicacies and refreshments like sugarcane juice among others.
After the refreshing walk, we met our host's driver who then took us on the famous spice tour in the interior as he narrated the history of how the Sultan introduced the spice and decreed that for every tree cut, one had to replace it with three others.
We joined by a group of fellow tourists for the guided tour of one of the farms with some of the local farmers doubling as tour guides to name each spice and explain in details which spice was used for what.
Enroute to the farm in a 9-seater van we enjoyed a cool breeze from the Indian Ocean from all directions, birds, colobus monkeys and butterflies, the serene environment of palm and mango trees and as some of the residents went about their business walking, cycling or driving along the well-maintained tarmac roads.
Our new tour guide gave us a brief history of the Omani Arabs who discovered the island off the East African coast opposite Dar es salaam, the capital of Tanzania.
Sultan’s Persian wife
According to the guide, one of the Sultans married a lady from Persian (later renamed Iran) who was very pretty and fair skinned that he was ready to do anything to make her happy.
"This particular queen requested the Sultan to build for her a special latrine and bathroom out in the countryside away from her many cowives and his concubines so she could use it in privacy and freedom and joy whenever she needed to!" said the guide as he pointed to the abandoned building.
At the end of the tour, we were all welcomed to seat on the ground on home-made mats where another team of local women group offered us one of the delicious pilau and biriani I had ever tasted and eaten. We were then offered a gift pack each of the various spices as a souvenir and encouraged to buy more for our relatives and friends back home.
We then returned to base where we took a much-deserved siesta and woke up later ready for the evening walk opposite Forodhani House, at the people's park as we imbibed the Zanzibar sunset, culture, culinary delights and entertainment.
We were not disappointed.
The free walk-in cinema reminded me of the same in Nairobi in the 1960s and 1970s where we used to watch the in the residential estates standing or sitting on the grass. Most of the movies were of cowboys versus Indians and always ended with the cowboys riding into the horizon in victory.
But unlike the Nairobi ones that were predominantly foreign, the ones in Zanzibar were local and the language used was Kiswahili as part of President Julius Nyerere’s Umoja policy of uniting the country.
Walk-in and open-air cinema
One of the movies screened that evening was of the founder President touring villages in the expansive country to promote his government and Chana Cha Mapinduzi's policies of African socialism which was opposite to Kenya's President Jomo Kenyatta, who opted for capitalism, which his counterpart described as: A Man eat man society!"
The seafront venue had a captivating view of the Zanzibar sunset, the beehive of activities at the port of local and international ships and ferries docking and others departing for far off lands.
The sleek space-age designed cruise ships, ferries and speed boats operating between mainland Dar es Salaam to Zanzibar and neighboring Pemba Island and beyond. Meanwhile, we were told that the seaside open air walk-through restaurants were popular because all women, single or married, were required to participate by cooking and selling their specialties to the public and tourists and ensure all family members were on board.
Among the items on the menu were octopus and/or calamari and prawn’s curry; others were crab spring roll, grilled lobsters, calamari and fish; and octopus and cassava among other big array of sea foods. Indeed, we were spoilt for choice at a pocket friendly cost while musicians played live music some fans danced and sang along until close to midnight when everyone called it a night and returned to their respective homes or hotels.
Day Three was an easy one after breakfast of spiced tea with mahamri (buns) and other local delicacies. We then took a city walk starting at the Old Town using the narrow walk ways and roads, just like in Mombasa and Lamu, then we ended at the beach where we enjoyed delicious ice cream from an Italian café to help us cool off the scorching heat.
We the proceeded to the historic fort that has since been turned into a museum and has artifacts from the era of the Omani Arabs and Sultans ruling the island to the British rule and later after independence where their fit Prime Minister’s limousine is part of the main attractions. But even before you enter the iconic building, one would be awed by the giant well decorated ‘Zanzibar Door,’ made of mahogany and with some of the most beautiful hand carved designs I had ever seen.
Once inside the centuries old building that has three floors, you enter another world of Zanzibar culture, Kiswahili language, rule by Omani Arabs, then British government, short-lived take over by General Okello, take over by the Tanganyika government under President Nyerere, and merging it to form the Republic of Tanzania. The tour also takes one back to history of the local, regional and international politics which included the East-West cold war between the United States and the then Soviet Socialist Republic (USSR).
Day three was a tour of the slave trade market on the outskirts of the city, where we were shown where the victims were kept as they waited to be sold and exported to Middle East, Europe and Americas.
The scene was most traumatic, our next stop was near a beach from where the slaves were hauled into ships ready for the foreign trips across the world.
But the dark side of the island was quickly overshadowed by the beautiful beaches and palm trees along the way to a public beach where we were allowed to spend over an hour in the white sands and sky-blue sea.
Dark side of slave trade
Some tourists who were apparently on honeymoon were almost left behind, as they disappeared in the bush and took longer together than they had expected as the tour guide and the fellow tourists looked for them and raised eyebrows.
After a frantic search, one of the tour guides came back with the young couple who looked unconcerned with the fuss they had caused as they continued to hug each and other and kiss in public as they entered the tour van.
The trip back was uneventful as we were all satisfied and tired ready for an early snack and a nap in our respective hotels and guests houses. The following morning at dawn, we packed and headed straight to the airport ready for our return flight to JKIA.
Our next trip to the Spice Island was three years later when we booked a hotel on the East end facing the open sea where we stayed for three days. The highlight of the latter was a dawn boat ride to the deep sea for a swim with the dolphins as others took photos, and others enjoyed the best sunrise ever.
Back at the hotel, we were impressed and amused to see Masais from Arusha and Moshi, near the Tanzanian-Kenyan boarder double up as tour guides, beach cleaners with ox-carts and entertainers during the day dancing with local and foreign tourists.
Their style of tourism was all inclusive and allowed locals to mingle freely with tourists and promote the tourism sector. The three-days moved fast that by the end of the RRR (Rest, Relax and Reflect) holiday, I was left yearning for more. Maybe now that the Corona virus and the other variants are on the decline, this might be the best time to consider booking a fight and hotel for another visit.
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