We flew in to Zanzibar from Arusha in northern Tanzania on a small 40-seater plane run by a private airline called Flight 540. The view from 20,000 ft. above, as we approached Zanzibar, was spectacular - clear green waters of the Indian Ocean, dotted with small land masses filled with lush green vegetation. As the plane descended, it seemed as though we would touch down on water but we didn’t and the flight landed on terra firma and a moist, slightly cool breeze welcomed us as we stepped out made our way past the customs officials.
We found a taxi and headed into town. The driver was a friendly chap and went by the name of Ronaldo. He explained that his real name was Mohammed Naroor but took the pseudonym of Ronaldo after his favourite football player to ensure that European and American tourists find it easy to pronounce and remember his name!
The island was green, and beautiful; it reminded me instantly of Kerala and Goa. We caught glimpses of the sea through the trees as we drove through the town.
Most of the women wore a head-dress called hijab, that covered their heads and neck and fell down to the shoulders. We passed through a road called Bu-Bu-Bu Road, named after the train that used to run there in earlier times. There was a Bu Bu Bu Police Station, and a school named, yes, you guessed it, Bu Bu Bu School.
Spice plantation tour
Our first stop was at a spice plantation and it now definitely felt like we were in Kerala. Guide Habib, took us on a tour of the estate and pointed out the various spices. Our guide was impressed by our knowledge of spices - turmeric, ginger, pepper (called pili pili manga in Swahili), vanilla, cardamom. He twisted a few strands of leaves and made them into lovely objects - tapioca leaves (called cassava, locally) became a necklace, the pineapple plant leaves transformed into glasses while he made crowns from coconut leaves. My girls were mighty impressed and laughed gleefully when he placed mini crowns on their heads; we gave them nice titles to go with the crowns - the Spice Girls! He then showed us the lipstick plant - it had a pod that gave a reddish-orange colour gel when squeezed.
After the plantation tour, we headed to our hotel in the northern part of Zanzibar called Amaan Bungalows. Our room had a wonderful view of the beach. The balcony stood on four wooden pillars and a white sandy beach led out to endless expanse of water, whitish near the shore, light green, then dark green and so on till it extended to the horizon in hues of spectacular turquoise.
Beautiful sunset over the Indian Ocean
The next day, after spending the morning playing in the waves, we went out on a snorkelling and sunset cruise. One of the locals introduced himself as ‘Captain’ and offered to take us on the cruise. He asked, ‘You from India?’ When we answered ‘Yes’, he immediately declared, “Mujhe kuchchu kuchchu hota hay!”
We went along with the Captain in his dhow, into the Indian Ocean wearing life jackets and snorkelling gear and explored the colourful underwater world full of fish and coral. After a good hour of this, we clambered into the boat which swayed gently as the wind caught the sails. The sunset made us clap and sigh in wonder. The western sky turned red, then orange until the sun submerged into the sea after a spectacular show.
Slave Cave Tour
The next day, Ronaldo, took us out again . First stop was the Slave Cave. The place looked deserted and Ronaldo introduced a young guide to us who would take us on the tour. We followed our young guide down a few rugged steps into a a dark hollow cavern; we had to use torches to see our way down.
Even after slave trade was abolished Arab kings continued to hide slaves in this cave. There was a secret exit from the cave into the sea where waiting ships carried them away to bonded labour. The sea was some distance away , but it was not difficult to imagine how it must have been for the men and women chained and forced to walk the path towards the ship that would carry them far away from home to a life of untold misery.
Old Stone Town Tour
We visited the Old Stone Town with its extraordinarily narrow lanes where one could either walk or cycle. We stopped at the erstwhile slave market which now houses the Christ Church Cathedral in its premises. The altar of the church is supposedly built right on the spot where the whipping staff used to be!
We climbed down to the dungeons of the old building where the slaves were detained before they were auctioned. It was a hideous place - small and narrow with no windows. There were two rooms on either side, for men and women and children. Small square openings in the wall acted as ventilators. The room was otherwise dark and dingy. There were hooks embedded in the walls - presumably to chain the slaves. Missionary David Livingstone, who travelled and lived in Zanzibar, is said to have worked tirelessly to abolish slavery here. We visited the citadel that was constructed to commemorate the abolition of slavery. And on the way the area where slave auctions were held. Lest the world forgets, the site today has clay figures of slaves with their hands tied behind their backs and chains around their necks.
A palace has been converted into a museum and is called the House of Wonders as it was the first building in the area to have electricity and an elevator. It has one of the biggest door frames at the entrance. A massive sail boat is laid out in the middle of the front room to welcome visitors. It houses knives, clothes, pottery and other artefacts from the past.
Apparently, the shortest war in history took place here between the British and the Arab King and it lasted about 38 minutes as the Arab king surrendered quickly to the British forces. A part of his palace, the stables and other neighbouring buildings were ruined in the bomb attack but were renovated subsequently.
Walking through the narrow lanes one can see some some examples of the Indian architectural styles as quite a few Indians - mostly Gujaratis- came down to Zanzibar in the 1800s.
As we left the shores of Zanzibar on a ferry towards, we saw the white buildings of the Palace clearly outlined, standing silently and solemnly, looking out to the sea - a mute witness to history.
Kwaheri (Goodbye) Zanzibar!
