As I mentioned in my previous post about Zanzibar, Fulbright offers a Regional Travel Program where scholars can travel to another location in their region and conduct activities related to their project. The purpose is to widely share the expertise of Fulbright U.S. Scholars throughout the region, to facilitate additional collaboration and partnership opportunities, and of course Fulbright’s mission: to increase mutual understanding and support friendly and peaceful relations between the people of the United States and the people of other countries. What an honor to be part of this mission!
I wanted to use the opportunity to experience a completely new part of Africa so I searched for a host institution on the other side of the continent. I connected with the State University of Zanzibar (SUZA) and everything fell into place. My primary contact at SUZA, Dr. Juma, encouraged me to visit during the last week of Ramadan so that I would be there to experience Ramadan and the end of Ramadan celebration, Eid al-Fitr. He also suggested that I stay in Stone Town at the Tembo House Hotel. I took all of his advice and I’m so happy that I did. This was such an amazing experience.
Zanzibar is actually two islands: Unguja and Pemba, both part of the archipelago of Tanzania in the Indian Ocean. Unguja is the larger of the two and is commonly known as Zanzibar while Pemba is called by its island name. Before 1964, Zanzibar was a separate country and what we now call Tanzania was a country known as Tanganyika. They merged on April 26, 1964 to become Tanzania (Tan from Tanganyika and Zan from Zanzibar to make Tan-zan-ia). Zanzibar is still quite separate from the mainland in many ways.
Stone Town is the oldest part of Zanzibar City. It was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000 because of its historical and artistic importance in East Africa, which includes Arab, Persian, Indian, and European influences. It is a wonderfully unique city with a maze of narrow streets and alleys – all lined with small shops hoping to sell souvenirs to tourists.
The Tembo House Hotel is a beautiful historical building – the first beachfront hotel in Stone Town. A sign near the front desk detailing the history of the building says that Mahatma Gandhi once stayed in room #26 – my room – which I’m sure was quite different in 1912, but still…
During my first week, all of my university engagements began early in the morning and ended by midday so once I returned to my hotel, I was free to explore Stone Town. The primary language of Tanzania is Swahili. Most people also speak English, but I quickly learned the important Swahili words:
Jambo! or Habari – Hello
Karibu -Welcome or You’re Welcome
Mzungu – Tourist (white man); I also saw it translated as “crazy wanderer” which made me laugh
Asante or Asante Sana – Thank you or Thank you very much
Kahawa – coffee
My favorite words, which very much reflect the island vibe in Stone Town:
Polepole – slow; take it easy
Hakuna matata – no problem; no trouble
I spent my afternoons exploring Stone Town, at first with a guide (local people will show you around for a small fee) because it’s easy to get lost in the maze of streets and alleys, but eventually I was fine on my own. I enjoyed talking to the local people who were happy to direct me, give me tips about things I might want to see, and tell me some of the history of Zanzibar.
On the edge of Stone Town, there is a busy market where you can buy spices, fish, meat, produce, and household items. I did not spend much time at the market – the maze of streets, coffee shops, and beaches were more my speed.
I booked a tour of Changuu Island, known as “Prison Island”, which can be seen from my hotel balcony. Our guide said that it was meant to be a prison for “rebellious slaves” in the 1860’s but was never used as a prison. Instead it was used as a quarantine station for yellow fever cases in the 1890’s. In 1919, four Aldabra giant tortoises were gifted to Zanzibar from Seychelles. The tortoises bred and the numbers increased, but then people began to harm them and steal them and the numbers dwindled. They are now listed as a vulnerable species and are protected – living happily with several beautiful peacocks. A guide on the island pointed out one tortoise who is thought to be around 160 years old. I’m not sure how many tortoises are on the island, but I did observe that some are doing their best to keep the species alive.
Because it was slow season for tourism, there were just two of us mzungus along with Captain Biggie (the guide) and the boat captain. The other tourist, Florence, is from Belgium. She’s a nurse who has worked in various countries. We enjoyed talking with each other during our prison island tour and decided to have dinner and a couple drinks that evening. It was nice to have some company for dinner and I enjoyed hearing about her travels.
The weekend in the middle of my two week visit just happened to include my birthday – what luck! I decided that I should treat myself to a special weekend so I scheduled a couple days at Nungwi beach at the northern tip of the island. *This little excursion was not funded by Fulbright, by the way.
On the way to Nungwi, I stopped for a spice farm tour – a suggestion from my driver, Bash. The guides were fun and I learned a lot about spices. After the tour I had a traditional Zanzibar meal served on the floor under a pavilion. The meal was really tasty and the only thing that would have made it better is if I was not eating alone, but hakuna matata.
My cottage at Nungwi was picture perfect and just steps away from Spanish Dancer Divers where I booked two days of diving – the first day being on my birthday. On the first dive day, there were only two other divers with me, Sarp – from Turkey, and Erika – from Spain. We had a really fun crew – dancing and singing. The boat rides to and from the dive sites at Mnemba Atoll (Small Wall and Aquarium) were rough – rough water, small boat, but the dives were wonderfully calm. I saw lots of octopuses and many varieties of fish (trumpet fish, trigger fish, puffer fish, eels, butterfly fish, scorpion fish, parrot fish). I love when huge schools of fish swim by like a moving wall.
The best part of my birthday was a surprise from Andrew. He contacted the dive shop ahead of my visit and arranged something special for me. In the video, you see the dive crew singing me a Happy Birthday song and giving me an oatmeal can. Inside were three small moon cakes and at the bottom a note that said Happy Birthday from Andrew. I was not expecting that and was quite touched.
Erika had a birthday drink with me that evening and when I got back to my cottage, I opened all the birthday cards from my file of cards. Thank you, everyone! This was a birthday I will always remember.
My second day of diving was also an adventure. This time it was just me and Sarp – Erika bailed on us because she was a little seasick from the rough waters the previous day. The first dive – Tumbatu – started with poor visibility and then everything cleared up and I could see beautiful coral and at one point we watched an octopus trying to eat a puffer fish. The puffer was struggling to get free. I wasn’t able to see how it turned out for the puffer because the current moved me along, but it was pretty cool. The second dive – Mbwangawa – was a learning experience. The visibility was terrible. Once we descended I was not able to see my guide or dive buddy unless I was almost touching them. At one point I could not see either of them at all and so I ascended and they came up a short time later. I decided to stay on the boat and enjoy the sunshine and skip the second dive that day, hakuna matata. Even a not-so-good day diving is still a good day diving.
When I returned to Stone Town for my second week with SUZA, Eid al-Fitr was still going on. The streets of Stone Town were crowded all afternoon and evening with families dressed in their finest. Little girls were all done up with makeup and everyone looked sharp. I was told that this is a time when families get together – going from the mainland to the island and vice versa. The hub of the Stone Town celebration was at Forodhani Park, near my hotel. There was music and lots of food. Everyone was happy. The greeting is Eid Mubarak! Blessed feast.
I am so happy to have spent this time on Zanzibar. At this point in my Fulbright experience, I am quite comfortable asking people to share with me about their culture. People are happy and proud to share. I have also become quite used to people asking me about the U.S. I never knew how closely other countries are watching the U.S.
This short trip was packed full of learning for me. I am most pleased to have witnessed Ramadan and the Eid al-Fitr celebration. I now have a more meaningful understanding of the significance of Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr to the Muslim community.
Cats & Dogs
Sierra Leone has dogs. Zanzibar has cats. In Sierra Leone, it is just part of life that there are dogs everywhere. They are just around. They don’t bother anyone. I guess the problem is that they don’t get spayed or neutered so they just keep reproducing. Zanzibar has the same situation, but with cats. I’m not quite sure what to make of this in either place, but they sure are cute.
One last thing. Here’s a dude walking a monkey on the beach.
What a great read! You are truly having an adventure and making a difference.
Kim, between your writing and your photographs, you make me feel as if I was there.
I never thought about “going” to Zanzibar but there you are!
You are such a citizen of the world.
Thank you for your blog posts. Loving them.
Thank you, Dotty.