Exploring Zanzibar, Tanzania

After leaving the suffocating structured safari in Kenya, it was off to Zanzibar for a week (Aug 30-Sep 5) on our own - without structure and guides telling us where we could or could not shop. We spent the first two nights at the Clove Hotel and exploring Stonetown. I enjoyed staying at the Clove Hotel. The owner was very helpful, the location behind the House of Wonders was great, the roof top balcony was a great place to catch the breeze and relax, and the rooms were comfortable (and matched the pictures on their website). The only downside was the proximity to this mosque.

Every morning, the call to prayer (and the full prayer that followed) would wake us up. I'm not sure it would be quieter anywhere else in the area.

We decided to get our bearings by taking a tour of the city. We learned about the different types of carvings on the door, and how the different decorations provided information about the origin and religion of the original owner. The details on some of the doors were quite amazing.

The main market was a bustling place with lots of spices, grains,
fresh fruits and vegetables,
meats, and fish. Lots of fish!

Zanzibar is predominantly muslim and most of the women covered their heads, usually with brightly colored scarves. Some of them wore full burkas, including the face mask (ninja).

The Angelican Cathedral is built on top of Zanzibar's former slave market.
As a remembrance of the slave trade, the courtyard of the church contains a memorial sculpture.It contains five figures of various ages, sizes, and ethnicities chained together in a pit.

St. Joseph's Catholic Cathedral

Old Fort

Stowntown sunset

We had fun wandering around the streets of Zanzibar and buying reasonably priced souvenirs. However, there were quite a few men who were rather pesty and difficult to shake. They followed us around, and then demanded money for "helping" us. Several people said hello to me and then demanded a tip for saying hi. It was very draining to think somebody was being friendly only to find out that they were just trying to scam you for money.

On the last night in Stonetown, we headed to the evening food market for dinner (Forodhani Gardens is under renovations, so the market was held behind the House of Wonders). The food was very tasty but Crystal got pick pocketed. From the way she carried on, I think that might have been the highlight of her trip! I've never seen somebody so deliriously happy to be robbed before (she was delighted that they found her "decoy" stash, rather than her real stash).

The next morning, we were off to the beach for the rest of the trip.