zanzibar

After the bat mitzvah on Sunday, I headed to the airport for a red eye to Zanzibar – the start of my African adventure.  After a frusturating airport experience – never been pushed around and cut in front of in line by fellow passangers so much in my life!  I think I was also the only white person on the plane and the only one NOT in head to toe garb.  The lady at the first class counter pulled me out of line to help me since she could tell I was getting nowhere.  I also then had to go back into two other lines and the airport security pulled me out of line to question me since I was flying through Ethiopia.  I got questioned more there than an el al flight and if you have ever been on an el al flight, you would know that they question you like crazy.  I got asked everything from why I was in Israel, if I had been before and why, what shul I belong to in the states, and what holidays I celebrate and more!  Long story short, I made it!  The plane was possibly the most uncomfortable I had ever been on – don’t fly Ethiopian airlines.  After a 6 hour layover in addis ababa, ethiopia (and watching people clean their feet in the sink!), I was finally on my way to zanzibar. For those that do not know, Zanzibar is an island off the coast of Tanzania and represents the zania in Tanzania.  Zanzibar was a major hub of slave trade back in the day and instead of westerners buying slaves, most of the slaves went to the middle east and thus there is a HUGE Arabic influence on the island, even more so than the mainland of Tanzania.

By the time I got to the hotel it was pretty late in the afternoon so I decided to chill by the infinity pool.  They greeted me with a drink and everyone I met at hotel (and even later) LOVED the United States – they talk about it like people used to refer to the American dream.  And of course, they love Obama.  The sunsets were amazing in Zanzibar – just spectacular. 

On Tuesday, I started the day with a tour of stone town – the main city on the island.  The town was pretty dirty and run down but the history was pretty interesting.  Some interesting facts I learned.

• 1.4 million people in Zanzibar (which is made up of two islands).  However, 0.5 million live on Pembra (the other island).
•  95% of the island is muslim and most do not like their picture taken – they think it steals their soul.  Makes photography difficult
•  Something like 46 mosques in the small city center
•  The doors have pointy things on them to keep people/things out (now just for decoration)
• The doorframes are often decorated and the chain represents the slave trade
•  Instead of revamping old buildings, they just abandon them – see old school records in an abandoned building
•  Slave trade was very common- I even went to where they used to auction people and “store” them prior to auction.  Definitely got the chills there.
•  The outdoor market was unreal – I guess they don’t have any sanitary requirements for meat and fish. (see pictures)
•  The island is known for its spices
•  Kids go to school two times a day through 7^th grade – once for religious school and once for general studies.  Most learn to speak English – probably because of the amount of tourism
•  I bought a very cool hand carved chest in Zanzibar. Long story short I don’t have it now – wont bore you with logistical details of that!
• There is Portuguese, Scottish and Arabic influence on the island as the island was colonized/ruled/inhabitted by all of these populations.

After the stone town tour, I went on a spice tour, since the island is known for its spices.  Besides being a total tourist trap, I did get to see a lot of cool spices and fruits.  There was an orange grapefruit (much sweeter than grapefruits in the US), peppers, vanilla beans (much softer than the US version), cinnamon (which I learned uses 3 different parts of the tree).  The best part was drinking the liquid from a young coconut after I watched the guy climb up the palm tree to cut it down for me.  I gave in and tried a bunch of fruit against my better judgment to avoid any non-cooked foods, but I survived!  They were super nice and let me smell and try just about everything.

On Wednesday, I took a taxi back to the center of town to catch a dhow (wooden hand made boat in Zanzibar) to prison island.  I thought there was going to be other people on the boat, but nope, just me and the driver and his helper.  We took the short bumpy ride (well short in miles – probably less than 5, but took a long time!) over to the island, the home of very large turtles.  They were HUGE.  While the tortoises can roam free on the island, they definitely congregate in one location where the tourists go as the local conservatory feed them.  Each turtle has a number painted on his back which shows how old they are.  Some were over 150 years old!  So crazy.  They keep the babies separate until they hit 3 years and then move them to another section until they are 10.  Once they are 10 years old they are allowed to join the rest of the turtles.

On another part of the island was the location of the prison.  Even though it is called prison island and there was a prison facility, it was never used as an actual prison.  Instead, the island was used as a place for people with diseases until they decided it was too close to Zanzibar town (aka stone town).  After visiting the island, we took the boat a couple hundred yards away so I could go snorkeling.  The fish and coral were beautiful – so many colors and unique fish.  Since it was low season when I went, I was the only one out there and I got the whole prison island trip for a good deal!  The sad thing about snorkeling was unlike Hawaii which had regulations on where you could throw your anchor to protect the coral there were no regulations so I fear the coral will be damaged over time.

On my way back to the hotel, the cab driver told me all about the island.  There were tons of half built houses which he explained that people build houses piece by piece as they get the money – so it oftens takes a very long time.  Also, there were cows (oddly shaped) carrying goods and people on bicycles transporting large loads.  The island was fascinating.  Not sure I need to go back anytime soon, but glad I went.  Would definitely prefer Hawaii for relaxation and beauty, but interesting learning about the culture.  Also, did not enjoy the massive amounts of mosquito bites I left with – good thing I started my malaria medication before I went to Zanzibar.  I did learn that the Clinton foundation is doing quite a bit of work in Zanzibar to decrease the instances of malaria.

My major takeaway is that although they do not have a great deal compared to western standards, they are a happy people.