Zanzibar is an archipelago off the coast of Tanzania, consisting of Zanzibar Island (locally, Unguja), Pemba Island, and several smaller islands. Zanzibar island is 60 miles long by 20 miles wide.
Get in
By Boat
There are many ferries and catamarans that can take you between Dar es Salaam and the Island. Azam Marine and Sea Express are among the nicest available. They run several times each weekday and costs between $35 and $40. The trip is beautiful and lasts about an hour/hour and a half. However, if the weather is bad it can take much longer and the trip can be very unpleasant.
You may be able to hire a private boat for cheaper, but the trip will take considerably longer and unless you know something about boats, you could be on a vessel that is not equipped for bad weather conditions or an emergency. Remember: you get what you pay for.
Be aware that the "porters" at the Dar ferry terminal will hassle you for money and expect tips for referring you to "the best boat." If you don't want their help, be forceful. The dock is a zoo -- a prime hangout for pickpockets.
By Air
There are several flights from Dar to Zanzibar. Coastal, Precision Air and ZanAir, run at least one flight each a day. Flights are often late but generally reliable.
As off March 2007, Coastal was charging 87,000 Tsh for a return flight from Dar with a 20kg baggage limit. The planes are small so luggage can be an issue if your doing a lot of shopping. A Precision Air ticket will cost 116,000 Tsh, but with a more generous baggage allowance.
Zanzibar has two (2) departure taxes. Domestic flights: 5,000 Tsh (or $5) and International flights: $25 (see GET OUT below).
Taxi
There are a number of taxis waiting for passengers when you exit the terminal. Despite having a "list" of prices for the various tourist destinations on the island, prices are negotiable. Although you can arrange a pick up at the airport with your hotel or tour company, even a little negotiating will get you a better price than the inflated one quoted by most hotels. However, some Stone Town hotels do offer free shuttle service from the airport.
Get around
Although taxis are available, you will probably want to walk through Stone Town. After all, most of the alleys are barely wide enough for a bike to pass.
Journeying outside Stone Town is most comfortably done with a taxi or a private car, however a network of Dalla-Dallas, small minivans, exist which service all the major villages on the island. The adventurous, armed with a phrase book and map, will experience a wonderful side of Zanzibar life, which all too often is just another photograph to the typical tourist zooming past. A private car is of course a lot more expensive than a dalla-dalla, $15 compared to $3. It will take you about 3 hours to get to Nungwi, on the northern tip of the island.
Many hotels are happy to arrange a taxi for a transfer to the harbour, airport, spice tour or to another hotel. Beware, however, as they get commissions from taxis and so the prices tend to be higher. For example, your hotel might say that an airport transfer is $10, while out on the streets of Stone Town there are so many taxi drivers needing business you'll probably be able to negotiate the price down to $6.
See
Do
There are a lot of things to do on Zanzibar Island. It just depends on where your interests lie.
In the tourist areas around the waterfront, Kenyatta Road and Shangani Road, you will be beset by all manner of papasi, touts and others wanting to offer you taxis, spice tours, music, gifts, etc. A polite but firm 'No Thanks' usually does the trick, but it can get exhausting. Best thing to do here is wander into the more residential alleys where you won't be disturbed.
:* find plenty of opportunities for scuba diving; Rising Sun Dive Center (based at the Breezes beach resort, equally well recommended) is PADI accredited and well recommend, taking divers out onto the beautiful (and un-touched) reefs.
:* swim with the dolphins
:* arrange for a ride on a local's dhow (a carved, wooden boat)
:* sit and stare at the water for hours on end
Buy
Zanzibar currency is the Tanzanian Shilling (TS), which is exchanged at a rate of around US$1 = TS1200. There are 3 ATM's on the island, all in Stone Town. A store that accepts credit card payment is a rarity. Don't rely totally on your bank card. Take extra cash or traveller's cheques.
Stone Town is a one-stop-souvenir-shopping for the traveler. You can find beautiful textiles, handmade jewelry, intricate wood or stone carvings, spices, knick-knacks, and the list goes on and on . . .
Buy a cookbook and spices. Take the trip home with you! Beware that many of the vendors sell fake saffron (appears waxy like a shredded red crayon).
Eat
Drink
Although it is primarily a Muslim community, small bars are everywhere. Also, try the ginger beer - tangawizi.
Sleep
Respect
Zanzibar is largely a Muslim community. Although they are used to Western ways, you should try to be respectful. This means:
Get out
When returning to your own country, you will be charged $25 as an exit tax. The customs sign asks for dollars, so it's probably safer to keep $25 in cash for when you leave. Check first to see if you can pay the tax in Tanzanian Shillings.
You can take the night ferry to Dar, it's the cheapest option, $20, and you also save a night's stay in a restaurant. It leaves at 22.00pm, and arrives at about 6.00am in Dar.
Zanzibar is the name for an archipelago in the Indian Ocean 25–50 km off the coast of East Africa, of numerous small islands and two large ones: Unguja (the main island, sometimes informally referred to as 'Zanzibar'), and Pemba Island. The archipelago was once the separate state of Zanzibar, which united with Tanganyika to form Tanzania (derived from the two names), and still enjoys a high degree of autonomy within the union. The capital of Zanzibar, located on the island of Unguja, is Zanzibar City. The city's old quarter, known as Stone Town, is a World Heritage Site.
Zanzibar's main industries are spices (which include cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon and pepper), raffia, and tourism. Zanzibar is also the home of the endemic Zanzibar Red Colobus and the elusive Zanzibar Leopard.
The word "Zanzibar" probably derives from the Persian زنگبار, Zangi-bar ("coast of the blacks") and it is also known as Zanji-bar in Arabic. "Zanzibar" may also refer to the spice ginger (genus Zingiber). Zanzibar is sometimes referred to as the "Spice Islands," a term that is also associated with the Maluku Islands in Indonesia. Pemba Island is the only island apart from Zanzibar that still produces cloves on a major basis which is the primary source of spice income for the islands.
History
The first permanent residents of Zanzibar seem to have been the ancestors of the Hadimu and Tumbatu, who began arriving from the East African mainland around AD 1000. They had belonged to various mainland ethnic groups, and on Zanzibar they lived in small villages and did not coalesce to form larger political units. Because they lacked central organization, they were easily subjugated by outsiders.
Ancient pottery demonstrates existing trade routes with Zanzibar as far back as the ancient Assyrians. Traders from Arabia, the Persian Gulf region of modern-day Iran (especially Shiraz), and west India probably visited Zanzibar as early as the 1st century. They used the monsoon winds to sail across the Indian Ocean and landed at the sheltered harbor located on the site of present-day Zanzibar Town. Although the islands had few resources of interest to the traders, they offered a good point from which to make contact with the towns of the East African coast.
Traders from the Persian Gulf region began to settle in small numbers on Zanzibar in the late 11th or 12th century; they intermarried with the indigenous Africans and eventually a hereditary ruler (known as the Mwenyi Mkuu or Jumbe), emerged among the Hadimu. A similar ruler, called the Sheha, was set up among the Tumbatu. Neither ruler had much power, but they helped solidify the ethnic identity of their respective peoples.
Da Gama's visit in 1499 marks the beginning of European influence. The Portuguese established control over the island in 1503. In August 1505 it became part of the Portuguese Empire when captain John (João) Homere of de Almeida's fleet captured the island and claimed it for Portugal. It was to remain a possession of Portugal until 1698.
In 1698, Zanzibar became part of the overseas holdings of Oman, falling under the control of the Sultan of Oman. The Portuguese were expelled and slave traffic under the Sultan thrived along with an expanding economy in clove spice.
Sayyid Said bin Sultan al-Busaid moved his capital from Muscat in Oman to Stone Town in 1840. After his death in 1856, his sons struggled over the succession. On April 6, 1861, Zanzibar and Oman were divided into two separate principalities. Sayyid Majid bin Said Al-Busaid (1834/5–1870), his sixth son, became the Sultan of Zanzibar, while his brother, the third son Sayyid Thuwaini bin Said al-Said became the Sultan of Oman.
During this period, the Sultan of Zanzibar also controlled a substantial portion of the east African coast, known as Zanj, including Mombasa and Dar es Salaam, and trading routes extended much further into Africa, such as to Kindu on the Congo river. In November 1886, a German-British border commission established the Zanj as a ten-nautical mile (19 km) wide strip along the coast from Cape Delgado (now in Mozambique) to Kipini (now in Kenya) including all offshore islands and several towns in what is now Somalia. However, from 1887 to 1892, all of these mainland possessions were subsequently lost to the colonial powers of Britain, Germany, and Italy although some were not formally sold or ceded until the 20th century (Mogadishu to Italy in 1905 and Mombasa to Britain in 1963).
Zanzibar carries the distinction of having the first steam locomotive in East Africa, when Sultan Bargash bin Said ordered a tiny 0-4-0 tank engine to haul his regal carriage from town to his summer palace at Chukwani.
The British Empire gradually took over, and Zanzibar and the British position was formalized by the 1890 Helgoland-Zanzibar Treaty, in which Germany pledged not to interfere with British interests in insular Zanzibar. Zanzibar became a protectorate of the United Kingdom that year. The British appointed first Viziers from 1890 to 1913, and then British Residents from 1913 to 1963.
The death of Sultan Hamad bin Thuwaini on 25 August, 1896, saw the usurper Seyyid Khalid bin Bargash son of Sultan Bargash bin Said take over the palace and declare himself the new ruler. This was contrary to the wishes of the British Government since the rightful ruler should have been Sultan Hamoud bin Mohammed. This led to a showdown on the morning of 27 August when ships of the Royal Navy destroyed the Beit al Hukum palace having given Khalid an ultimatum to leave. He refused and at 9 am the ships opened fire and despite a substantial return fire from Khalid's rebel troops a cease fire was declared 45 minutes later after Khalid had fled to the German Consulate. The bombardment subsequently became known as The Shortest War in History. Sultan Hamoud was declared the new ruler and peace was restored once more. Acquiescing to British demands, Hamoud brought an end to Zanzibar's role as a centre for the eastern slave trade that had begun under Omani rule in 17th Century by banning slavery and freeing the slaves of Zanzibar with compensation in 1897.
On December 10, 1963, Zanzibar received its independence from the United Kingdom as a constitutional monarchy under the Sultan. This state of affairs was short-lived, as the Sultan was overthrown on January 12, 1964, and on April 26 of that year Zanzibar merged with the mainland state of Tanganyika to form Tanzania, a part of which it remains to this day.
This period of transition was not without violence:
On January 12, 1964, a violent revolution ousted the ZNP-led coalition...More than 5,000 Arabs were killed, according to reports, and thousands of others were detained and their property either confiscated or destroyed.
The film Africa Addio also documented the massacre of Arabs which was led by a Christian Ugandan John Okello.
Political status
Although Zanzibar is part of Tanzania, it elects its own president who is head of government for matters internal to the island. Amani Abeid Karume was re-elected to that office on October 30 2005 under criticism from opposition candidate Seif Shariff Hamad . Earlier, the fairness of his election on October 2000 was queried, and in January 2001 at least 27 protestors were killed by the police.
Zanzibar also has its own Revolutionary Council and House of Representatives (with 50 seats, directly elected by universal suffrage to serve five-year terms) to make laws especially for it; these make up the semi-autonomous Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar.
The Island of Zanzibar comprises three administrative regions: Zanzibar Central/South, Zanzibar North and Zanzibar Urban/West. On the Island of Pemba are the two regions Pemba North and Pemba South.
Sultans of Zanzibar
# Majid bin Said (1856–1870)
# Barghash bin Said (1870–1888)
# Khalifah bin Said (1888–1890)
# Ali bin Said (1890–1893)
# Hamad bin Thuwaini (1893–1896)
# Khalid bin Barghash (1896)
# Hamud bin Muhammed (1896–1902)
# Ali bin Hamud (1902–1911) (abdicated)
# Khalifa bin Harub (1911–1960)
# Abdullah bin Khalifa (1960–1963)
# Jamshid bin Abdullah (1963–1964)
Viziers
# Sir Lloyd William Matthews, (1890 to 1901)
# A.S. Rogers, (1901 to 1906)
# Arthur Raikes, (1906 to 1908)
# Francis Barton, (1906 to 1913)
British Residents
# Francis Pearce, (1913 to 1922)
# John Sinclair, (1922 to 1923)
# Alfred Hollis, (1923 to 1929)
# Richard Rankine, (1929 to 1937)
# John Hall, (1937 to 1940)
# Henry Pilling, (1940 to 1946)
# Vincent Glenday, 1946 to 1951)
# John Sinclair, (1952 to 1954)
# Henry Potter, (1954 to 1959)
# Arthur Mooring, (1959 to 1963)
Education
The island is home to Zanzibar University.
Culture
Zanzibar's history was influenced by the Persians, Arabs, Indians, Portuguese British and the African mainland. Stone Town is a place of winding lanes, circular towers, carved wooden doors, raised terraces and beautiful mosques. Important architectural features are the Livingstone house, the Guliani Bridge, and the House of Wonders, a palace constructed by Sultan Barghash in 1883. The town of Kidichi features the Hammam Persian Baths, built by immigrants from Shiraz, Iran during the reign of Sultan Barghash bin Said.
Trade
Pemba Island is the world's leading clove producer. It also exports spices, seaweed and fine raffia. Zanzibar also has a large fishing and dugout canoe production.
Miscellaneous
See also
References
External links
