ZanzibarThe islands of Zanzibar have been claimed at various times by the Persians, Zinj, Portugese, Arabs and British. Zanzibar is two islands just off the coast of Tanzania: Unguja and Pemba. The ferry ride from Dar-es-Salaam took four hours. It was a separate country until it was unified with Tanganyika in 1964 to form Tanzania. Stone Town is a maze of narrow streets, none of them straight, none wide enough to take four-wheeled traffic, so residents travel on bicycles or else on scooters. When it rains, the streets fill with water and the people. baraza Gizenga Street is Curio Central. Being allergic to house dust, the musty shops left me with streaming eyes and nose that didn't really leave me until I reached Nairobi. Zanzibar became a British Protectorate in 1891 and in 1897, slavery was abolished by Sultan Hamoud in 1897 under British coersian.The Anglican CathedralThe Anglian Cathedral was erected on the site of the former slave market, the altar being erected on the site of the post to which slaves for sale were chained. I rose early for a Palm Sunday mass at the Anglican Cathedral. I arrived at the cathedral anticipating a 7 a.m. Mass, only to discover that I was half an hour late - the service had begun at 6:30 a.m. I was handed a palm leaf cut from a coconut tree and a hymnal containing a preface signed "Thomas Zanzibar". The date at the bottom declared that said Thomas had been bishop in 1931, when he had ordered the hymnal printed by his authority.Idd el HajWednesday in Holy Week was also also the Muslim festival of Idd el Haj (Aid-el-Adha in Arabic, equivalent to the Malay Hari Raya Haji). Men in kanzu, the long white or purple robes worn by Muslim men on festive days.9 AprilHaving paid our TSh13000 fare, we discover that the seats we've been assigned at the back of the coach have been filled with cardboard boxes, leaving nowhere for us to sit. After much screaming, the boxes are finally removed from the coach. Paul is then approached again and it is explained to him that they will not leave without the boxes, they offer instead of. We finally depart Dar-es-Salaam at 9 a.m., fully two hours late. On the coach to Nairobi from Dar-es-Salaam, they inflict on us a movie titled Below Utopia and to my surprise, I discovered Alyssa Milano's name in the credits as Executive Producer and Star. The girl from Who's the Boss has matured into a very fine woman, but her voice seems now to be pitched too high for her age. Ice T makes an appearance as the villian and Justin Theroux (who?) is Alyssa's boyfriend. I later discover from the IMDB that Mr. Theroux is on the credits for Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion as the cowboy. The movie is mildly entertaining: sort of like Die Hard with a twist at the end.10 AprilNairobiAt about half an hour past midnight, we stumble, exhausted from the coach, onto a muddy Nairobi street. Danish Stefan Back to home Back to index Comments and corrections to <Gavvie@bigfoot.com> |