Zanzibar: Part One.

 Over the Easter holiday, my parents came out to visit me. They spent a week here in Ngara and then we travelled to Zanzibar together for a two week holiday. We had a wonderful time and it was really interesting to see some more of East Africa. It took us a few days to get there as we travelled by bus to leave Ngara and then took two flights!

Zanzibar is an island which is steeped in history.  It has a huge clove and spice industry which is still ongoing. Up until the market was closed in 1873, Zanzibar was the last stop off point for the shipping of slaves during the time of the slave trade. Because Zanzibar has been so involved in these various different trades it has a very mixed culture, and therefore architecture.  This photo shows a traditional Zanzibari door. These are found in Stone Town the traditional area of Zanzibar. There are hundreds of them, mostly just wooden but some have been painted bright colours too. I think they’re beautiful; they remind me of medieval castle doors.

Zanzibar is surrounded by beautiful beaches with white sand. The Sea is the Indian Ocean, which is the most amazing blue. The water is so clear that you can see your feet and shells on the seabed even when you’re far out. It was blissfully warm to swim in and so refreshing as the weather was very hot. 

The traditional boats in Zanzibar are called ‘Dhows’. They are all hand made on the island. Here is a photo of one sailing:

We went to see where they were being built. It takes lots of men to build one boat. They have to start by cutting the wood into the right length and shape planks, which the bend and hammer into place. They tools that use are ingenious. This photo shows a man with a non-electric drill. He is holding a tool which looks like a screwdriver in one hand whilst he uses the bow like tool (a piece of wood with a rope attached along the length of it) to rotate the screwdriver round and round. He holds it against the wood and as it rotates a hole is made in the wood. Isn’t that incredible!

 

Once they have constructed the main structure they have to ensure that the boat is watertight. They do this by soaking wool like material in varnish and carefully tapping it in between each plank with a chisel.

Dhows are used traditionally as fishing vessels, to transport goods from the island and more recently to attract tourists; as vessels for scuba diving and snorkelling and romantic sunset cruises.

I hope you all had a great Easter break, more updates soon!