Tanzania - Zanzibar

We had to travel back on the ferry across to Dar Es Salaam and then get onto another ferry to Zanzibar all by 10.30.

The ferry to Zanzibar was over 2h, crowded, hot, and stuffy, not very pleasant :-). But the arrival on Zanzibar was worth it! Zanzibar is known as the “Spice Island” of Africa and sits at approximately the same latitude as the Solomon Islands. The water is crystal clear and blue. The weather is tropical and warm. It really is worth the visit.

We spent our afternoon doing the “Spice Tour” which involved a delicious traditional lunch flavoured by the local spices and consisting of fried King Fish, curried Green Banana, steamed Cassava leaves, spiced rice, and a sauce for the rice which resembled Dhal but we aren’t sure. After lunch we went to a spice farm and walked through the crops seeing all of the spices in their natural state. It was very interesting. 

We left the farm and visited the remains of the Sultans palace where he housed his 14 secondary wives. You could still see the bed chambers, the toilets, and the bath houses. 

The final part of the tour was a visit to the historical site of the Slave Market. This site now holds the Anglican Church but the holding cells which held the slaves before being brought up for sale are still intact and housed under a neighbouring building. In the church, near the altar, is an area which is still remnant of the days of the slaves. It is the ground where the “Whipping Pole” stood. As the slaves were brought from the holding cells to be sold they were lashed to a tree known as the whipping pole and then repeatedly whipped. If a slave cried out during his whipping he was perceived to be weak and his price went down, if he made no noise he was strong and his price rose. Seeing these cells and hearing these stories was disturbing and very moving.

After dinner we explored the night market which is a food market on the water’s edge in the centre of Stone Town. It was surprisingly clean and hygienic looking and it was unfortunate that we had all filled up at the restaurant.