The very name Zanzibar evokes the exotic – this is paradise with a kick. Renowned as the Spice Island, even the coffee comes with bite as ginger spice added to the blend is an island specialty. Measuring less than 100km in length, its size has not diminished its importance in spice production, particularly the cultivation of the most expensive spice in the world, saffron.
Zanzibar boasts an ancient quarter called Stone Town, which is the oldest productive town in East Africa. Arabic houses and bazaars like Darajani market transport you to Morocco while Persian baths, forts and narrow alleys make you want to get lost. Arabic letters are scrawled onto faded peach walls, men stand behind wooden carts of fruit, motorbikes scoot around blind corners and women wear long dresses and headscarves. Despite being centuries old, Stone Town remains a thriving community with children, workers and old men sitting along walls.
The white of the sand beneath the low-lying water serves to intensify the pale blue Indian Ocean water. The ocean is so startlingly bright that it outshines the sky. And forget the sun, you’ll need sunglasses just to look at the blinding sand. Located off the coast of Tanzania, its position just below the equator blesses the island with perfect year-round weather.
Kangas are the local dress and they have proverbs or riddles embroidered on the edge of the boldly patterned gowns. The wisdom varies from the cheeky “silence is the answer to a fool” to the obvious “the world is round”. Elaborate palaces exist as a testament to Omani sultanate rule in centuries past but the best way to understand the island is to sail its waters in a dhow – a boat made without nails and yet able to withstand monsoonal winds. It is resilient without sacrificing aesthetics, much like the island itself. Sail to the coral reefs to see that the water is just as beautiful from above as from below.
