We took a trip to Stonetown for a day. The Market was
an eye opener - not just the fruit, spices etc, but the meat and fish
markets as well. Very dark, with produce laid on stone slabs and no
attempt to 'clean up' at all.
We also learned something of the horrors of the slave
trade.
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| Blue Marlin - note feet for scale. This was cut up, on the floor,
while we watched. |
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| Squid and octopus. Naturally very fresh |
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| Not sure on this one........ |
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Tomatoes, potatoes, garlic, root ginger....
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| Struggling now - I recognised the oranges, but other than that.... |
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| Pineapple, grapefruit (yes - the size of melons), coconuts of
course. |
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| Limes, aubergine, chillis etc etc |
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And then the spices. Cinnamon and red curry -
I won't attempt to name the others - they are all grown on the
island.
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| And more. |
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| We visited a mission school. It was actually pouring with rain
(short tropical storm) hence the coat. |
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| This was breaktime, - very noisy and excitable. We talked to the
staff for a while, and listened to a wonderful singing lesson. They
have very limited resources, but more staff per pupil than we are
used to, and seem to run things very efficiently. |
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| The slave memorial. People were held in pits like this, chained,
and covered with a wooden hut. If it rained they drowned; if it
didn't, they had to bear horrendous temperatures. The strong survived,
and eventually were sold... |
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| This church was built over the site of the original slave market.
The dealing table is incorporated into the alter inside. |
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| This is one of the original slave pits. Scale is difficult, but
we couldn't stand up in here. |
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| The Peace Memorial building. Now holds the Zanzibar museum, with
Giant Tortoises in the garden. They live wild on one of the small
islands nearby. |
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| Stone Town is famous for its doors - of Indian influence. The
large metal studs were originally to deter elephant from breaking
them down. On Zanzibar they were purely ornamental, but the richer
the owner, the more elaborate the door. This house belonged to Tippu
Tip, who was the richest slave trader of them all. It is now falling
into disrepair, as is most of Stonetown. |
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| Fabulous architecture right on the sea front in Stonetown - 'The
House of Wonders'. When it was built it was the largest house in
Tanzania and the first to have electricity. It was also the first
in Africa to have a lift! Currently the building is empty, but is
to house the museum (sometime). |
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| The old Arab Fort - Moorish architecture. |
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| Small accident on our way back - non-maintained lorry basically
fell apart on a bridge; bits of axle and wheels in the river. 3
hours later it was gone! |
