The original owners of the grand Arab houses in Stone Town competed with each other over the extravagance of their dwellings. This former glory is still evident in the brass-studded, carved, wooden doors of Zanzibar that adorn many of the homes along the narrow streets and alleyways that make up the Old City. There are … Read more
Although technically a part of Tanzania, Zanzibar has a much different feel than the mainland. Here the pace is slower and the smiles of Zanzibar come easy – just take a look at a few of the happy people I met on my strolls around town:
From the rooftop terrace of the Clove Hotel in Stone Town, I looked out over a sea of rusting tin roofs atop old coral and mortar buildings streaked with black mold. At the edge of town ancient dhows – fat, wooden sailing vessels – bobbed on the gentle waves of the Indian Ocean. As the … Read more
During my week-long safari and subsequent three-day Maasai home stay I had three showers – suffice it to say that I was definitely ripe by the time I got back to a town. While I would have loved to stay with my Maasai friends for a few more days (and indeed they invited me to … Read more
I have been back from my Maasai home stay for two days now and I am still struggling to write about it. I could variously describe the experience as appalling, fascinating, stimulating, exhausting, rewarding, frustrating, mind-expanding, enraging, or gratifying, and each one of those adjectives would be appropriate. But, let me start at the beginning. … Read more
