Zanzibar and Stone Town

On our last day we traveled to the southern tip of Zanzibar for a tour
of Stone Town and to get to know Zanzibar a little, beyond the
northern beaches.

We were met by our guide Mudi, a friendly and knowledgeably although
slightly uncomfortably man with a somewhat disconcerting giggle. Mudi
wore what appeared to be a McDonald's managers uniform (a white button-
down with a small version of the golden arches embroidered of the left
pocket), which I suspect he saw as a self-marketing strategy. We spent
the morning and early afternoon walking Stone Town with Mudi while he
shared the history of Zanzibar.

Until it joined the rest of Tanzania around 20 years ago Zanzibar was
an independent country of a million people living principally on two
islands. The island were initially governed by Arabs and are today 90%
Muslim. Nearly all of the women you see on the island wear colorful
head coverings, although some are all in black with their faces
covered "burka style". All of the school girls wear what appears to be
a standard-issue yellow or white one-piece head covering that drapes
ove their school uniform gowns.

200 years ago, Zanzibar was the main slave market for East Africa.
Slaves were captured on the mainland, brought here by boat, and sold
for shipment to Arab countries (the U.S. Slaves came from West
Africa). We started our tour underground in one of the slave holding
cells. They were held here underground with no food or water for 3
days before being brought up to the whipping post for auction. Those
that could withstand whipping without crying were sold at a high
price, presumably a better option than being returned to the cell.

We nex went to the fish, spice and meat markets. We saw fresh tuna,
octopus, mussels, kingfish, and others, freshly gutted and still
bloody. We learned tha locals want to see the blood and inner parts,
with ice bringing the freshness into question. We walked quickly
through the meat market as the smell was overpowering and the sights
gruesome. Here, the freshness test translates to goat and beef heads
and innerds sitting on the table below the hanging meat.

At the spice market, Monica negotiated a purchae and then we were off
to tour the narrow alleyways of Stone Town. Monica purchased some
kangas and a bag as we made our way to the waterfront and a three-
story climb to the balcony of a local museum. We ga lunch at one of
the waterfront hotels and then worked out way back to the guide office
from where we would be taken to the ferry on our way to Dar es Salaam.