THE COAST OF what is now Tanzania was the staging post for expeditions into the interior by the likes of David Livinsgtone. It was also the beginning of many thousands of sadder journeys, to the slave markets and plantations.
Dar Es Salaam is reasonable pleasant by day, and a good place to get mugged at night. The fabled island of Zanzibar was the capital of the Sultanate of Oman, and retains a rich cultural heritage.
Stonetown's back street and alley ways contain centuries old buildings from a time when Arab traders made fortunes selling slaves, spices and other goods.
As the temperature drops in the late afternnon, families stroll the main square, where a nightly food market sets up.
The Sultan Of Oman moved his capital to Zanzibar. His palace overlooks the main square of Stonetown.
Arya Samaj Hindu Temple in the Backstreet of Stonetown, Zanzibar, Tanzania.
Fishing boats in the blue waters around Zanzibar
Sunsets behind a traditional dhow off the coast of Zanzibar
Old wooden shoe-locker outside a mosque, Stonetown, Zanzibar
Old buildings of Zanzibar's Stonetown and blue seas.
Zanzibar has been a trading post for centuries. Slaves and other goods from the interior, spices and clothes from abroad were exchanged in bazaars and markets.
Old pink mosque in Dar Es Salaam. Islam arrived in Africa in the first millenium, spread by traders, many of whom stayed on. Dar is a pleasant enough place in the day, but not so much by night.
A fishing boat lies in front of one of Bagamoyo's historical buildings, itself in ruins. Bagamoyo was once a vital trading hub, brings goods to and from the interior, Zanzibar, India, and America. It was a major centre of the slave trade.
Calm waters off the coast from Dar Es Salaam. The peaceful view does not reflect the dangerous urban reality which comes with the dark.
Stonetown is a UNESCO site for its historical and cultural heritage. Here, wooden shutters are open to the narrow laneyways.
The fishing fleet in Bagamoyo.
A pleasant stroll along the beach at Bagamoyo, where thousands of Africans took their last steps on home soil.
Lovely old strip of shops in downtown Dar.
1950 art deco building in Dar, which has some architecural merit in pockets.
The jumbled flustercluck which is the Dar Es Salaam skyline.
One of the better places to eat in east Africa, Stonetown's night market. Things went rapidly downhill after that!
You see some heroic vehicular endevours in the developing world, but this is a gold medal performance.
Setting up for the evening night market.
Sitting on the dock of the bay, Stonetown, Zanzibar.