"We stay on point, like the best arrow" (Zanzibar Day 1)

(parents:  sorry for the delay...we had some technical difficulties).   

Talib Kweli's "African Dream" bounced around in my head all day today as I watched the group push through the final legs of travel.  We stayed on point!  And, ...we made it to sunny, wonderfully welcoming, historically storied Zanzibar.  

From Jack!

So far we have learned about the history of Zanzibar, the island that is roughly 33 km away from the mainland of Tanzania.  There are actually two islands:  Unguja and Pemba. Zanzibar was a flourishing trade center for centuries.  They traded ivory, slaves and spices with the Portuguese and Arabs. Zanzibar was already a flourishing community when the Portuguese first arrived on the island. Early Portuguese traders described a rich harvest and and an upper class that lived in fine homes and wore expensive silk and cotton clothes. Soon after this, in the year 1503, the king of Zanzibar became a vassal king to the king of Portugal. The Portuguese did not crush the culture and economy, but Zanzibar did not do as well under European rule.  The Portuguese took over much of the trade that went through Zanzibar including the entire gold trade so much of the money that the people of Zanzibar used to get started to go to the Portuguese. However, after the 16th century, Zanzibar began to do well again because the price of ivory (trafficked from places like the Congo) started to go up because of increased demand so they began to get many more goods in exchange for the same amount of ivory. People in Zanzibar care a lot about their history, and they are a proud people.  The culture of Zanzibar is  also very diverse. They have a triple heritage:  Christianity, Arabic, and Swahili cultures all combine to create an interesting blend. Today,  roughly 85% of the people in Zanzibar are Islamic, but you can see the influences of India, Portugal, and mainland Africa on the island as you walk around. 

Arriving in Zanzibar, there were a lot more boats than I expected which seems obvious since Zanzibar is an island, but there tons of boats. Every possible space was filled by boats. And, people are making boats on the beach and in the countryside.  They still use the traditional method and build fishing boats entirely by hand.   Another interesting thing I noticed was at the House of Wonders, which was the old Omani sultan's house (and now a kind of museum).  It is really big and made me realize how much money there  was coming into Zanzibar; one way to know how much wealth someone had is to look at the door of their home.  Zanzibar's doors are famous and each tells a story.  Another thing that got me thinking was in the Sultan's house there was this large ivory tusk that was just sitting there with no guards or anything.  Someone could have just gone into the building, taken it, and walked out. In the US, there would have been security all over the palace, but there was only one guy sitting at the front. Zanzibari's really trust their own people (though not necessarily the mainland government).  

These little cuties traveled with us on the ferry!

This group is devoted to card games!  Lots of laughter.

Artist Peter Ray Mwasha joined us in Dar. 

Our tour of Stone Town included a stop in Jaw's Corner, so named for two unique reasons:  1).  men sit around and talk all day (jawin') and 2).  while people generally watch FIFA on the outdoor tv, JAWS was the first film people in Zanzibar watched outside.