Zanzibar is a smattering of
stunning coral islands (known as an archipelago) in the beautiful Indian Ocean
and also part of Tanzania, East Africa. Although lots of people think of
Zanzibar as one island, the archipelago consists of two large islands (Unguja –
the main island, usually referred to as Zanzibar – and Pemba – its greener,
hillier, less explored sister) and numerous small islands (which are also
beautiful – we can take you there, no worries).
Today, the buzzing,atmospheric
capital of Zanzibar is Zanzibar City, located on Unguja, and its historic
centre, Stone Town, is a World Heritage Site well worth visiting. Here you can
see centuries of Portuguese, Omani and British influence in its dusty, winding
alleyways. Closed doors, courtyards, sudden vignettes of Zanzibari life – we
can help you to navigate its streets and unveil its mysteries to you.
The main industries of Zanzibar are tourism and spices – combine these two and you understand why the islands are called the Spice Islands. The ancient and the modern combine unblinkingly – fishermen fish as they have for centuries while chatting on their mobile phones, women in long buibuis ride scooters fast through the street and local hiphop stars wear the traditional kofia and kanzu (hat and robe).
The colours of the islands are mindblowing, as Zanzibari women dress in rainbow coloured kangas with pictures of flowers, fruits, telephones, lightbulbs, anything! Each kanga carries a motto – often a semi-disguised message to a partner, family member or neighbour, or sometimes an expression of piety. The wildlife is also vibrant, with tropical flowers such as hot pink bougainvillea and the bright red flaming tree, setting Zanzibar alight with colour.
The smells of fresh spices like cloves and cinnamon; the lush earth after a monsoon shower; and the fragrant blooms of jasmine, frangipani, ylang ylang and Queen of the Night also enchant visitors.
The main industries of Zanzibar are tourism and spices – combine these two and you understand why the islands are called the Spice Islands. The ancient and the modern combine unblinkingly – fishermen fish as they have for centuries while chatting on their mobile phones, women in long buibuis ride scooters fast through the street and local hiphop stars wear the traditional kofia and kanzu (hat and robe).
The colours of the islands are mindblowing, as Zanzibari women dress in rainbow coloured kangas with pictures of flowers, fruits, telephones, lightbulbs, anything! Each kanga carries a motto – often a semi-disguised message to a partner, family member or neighbour, or sometimes an expression of piety. The wildlife is also vibrant, with tropical flowers such as hot pink bougainvillea and the bright red flaming tree, setting Zanzibar alight with colour.
The smells of fresh spices like cloves and cinnamon; the lush earth after a monsoon shower; and the fragrant blooms of jasmine, frangipani, ylang ylang and Queen of the Night also enchant visitors.
Zanzibar is an exciting and
vibrant place, which is why it is a shame that some tourists come and stay in
resorts that could be anywhere in the world. We want to show you the reality of
Zanzibar and the fun that can be had here.
Zanzibar today
Today, Zanzibar has become a
destination in the Indian Ocean famous for its white beaches, turquoise waters,
palm trees and the intriguing history of Swahili culture. Oh, and the spices.
Although Zanzibar is rich in history, it is a developing country with many
Zanzibaris living in poverty. However, they remain hospitable and good natured
and make every visitor welcome on the island. Children in the streets or on the
beach will shout a loud Jambo at every tourist, the men sit in street corners
playing bao (a local game, similar to
backgammon, played on a carved wooden board with polished seeds – ask us for a
lesson!) or chatting over tea, and you will see women in colourful kangas doing
the shopping.
Zanzibar is a Muslim country
and visitors to the island should respect the local culture. If you are
drinking alcohol, stick to bars. And in Ramadan , don’t eat, drink or smoke in the street when
everyone is hungry. But do join in with the very special celebrations for Eid!
Boys, when you are in town or in any villages please wear something on your top
and at least shorts. Girls, in any settlements it is respectful to cover your
shoulders and wear at least knee length shorts or skirts. We are used to modern
styles of dress and the beach scene is relaxed, but the older generation are
really happy when you make an effort. If you learn some basic words of Swahili
(below), you will be rewarded by much more real responses from Zanzibaris. If
you don’t have time before you come – don’t worry! Either just watch The Lion
King (joking!) or we can help you with a simple lesson, you can even learn
while you’re lazing in your hammock with a fresh coconut!
More Zanzibari goodness
The Jambiani Tourism Training Institute is where we all learnt our skills – it’s a great all-round school offering
lessons in everything from customer service and computer skills to food
preparation and hygiene. We took two-year diplomas here, so really know our
stuff – and we encourage you to find out more about this fantastic place.
Mambo magazine is THE online magazine for Zanzibar archipelago, with loads of original
and exciting ideas for visitors – we are separate businesses but we share a
name and an ethos, which is to connect travellers here with locals www.mambomagazine.com There is also a
travel advice section with tips on things such as health, money, travelling
with kids, female travellers, older travellers and backpackers.
The Wikitravel open source guide to Zanzibar is another good source of
info, including advice on ferries and airlines, and travellers’ own experiences
of the island You can even add to it after your trip!
Made in Zanzibar is a great website for visitors wanting to stock up on Zanzibari
goodies and presents to take home to their family and friends – these are all
locally produced items from screen printed T-shirts through to spice-infused
soaps and colourful woven bags. You can’t order direct but it gives you great
info on these shops and we can take you to any of them!
Festivals are big in
Zanzibar, and the three main arts festivals are Sauti za Busara in February (music), ZIFF in July (film) and Jahazi
in September (literary and jazz). You can find out more about them on their
homepages:
Sauti za Busara: http://www.busaramusic.org/
Zanzibar International Film Festival (ZIFF): http://www.ziff.or.tz/
Jahazi Literary and Jazz Festival: http://www.jahazifestival.com/
A more purely local festival
is Mwaka Kogwa in July in the
village of Makunduchi, near our base in Jambiani. In this festival the men
settle grudges from the year past by fighting with banana sticks, the women and
the men sing bawdy songs about one another, and a hut is ceremonially burnt
down. It’s the one day of the year that people can do what they want and follow
their desires with no repercussions... Let us take you to this friendly but dramatic event!
Basic Swahili terms
Swahili is pretty much
phonetic so just pronounce words as they look unless we tell you otherwise!
Greetings:
These are most important
words in Swahili. Polite, thoughtful greetings count for a lot in Zanzibar.
Mambo?
This means How are you, how is it going? (literally it means ‘matters’ – how
are matters?) The answer is Mambo poa
– Things are cool! Or if you want to be clever you can use another variant and
reply Safi (literally ‘clean’), salama (fine), freshi (fresh), nzuri
(good).
Jambo
tends to be addressed to tourists, to which you can reply Sijambo to indicate you are well. Or hatujambo if there are more than one of you.
As-salam alaikum is the traditional Muslim greeting and can often be respectful,
especially going into a formal group situation. The correct response if someone
says it to you is wa alaikum as-salam.
If you want to impress the wazee (elders), greet them with Shikamoo (pronounced sheek-a-mow), to
which they will reply Marahaba
(thanks)
If you want we can teach you
to advance onto more sophisticated greetings such as asking about someone’s
family, health, work, harvest etc
Polite words:
Tafadhali Please
(pronounced ta-fa-dah-lee)
Asante (sana) Thanks (very much)
Hodi! Please
may I come into your house/space?
Karibu You
are welcome
If you master all of these
words, you can be fairly polite, and this will get you far. If you want more
in-depth lessons, we can help to organise them for you. It’s also worth
bringing a phrase book. You can learn more about the origins of Swahili here. And if you want to avoid accidentally making some rude mistakes then it’s worth
looking here.
