photo by David Barish

Sugar and Spice in Zanzibar Town

by Rachel E Jones

Children chatter excitedly in Swahili, chasing balls that bounce jaggedly down narrow, cobblestone streets. Men – engulfed by long, white robes and crowned with kofia (caps) – discuss business while indulging in the pleasures of a chess-like board game. And as the sun retreats over the turquoise sea, turning Zanzibar Town into a silhouette, women shrouded in bui-bui (black coverings) beckon their families to dinner from behind carved wooden doors, enticing them with the familiar smells of cloves, nutmeg, and cinnamon.

The spice trade has sustained the archipelago of Zanzibar, located just off the coast of Tanzania, for centuries. At its height, Indian and Asian traders exchanged their fragrant riches for slaves and ivory; today, spice tours offer but a whiff of the many attractions the islands hold for tourists.

In the capital of Zanzibar Town, prayers echo from minaret-laden mosques. The House of Wonders – a palace constructed more than a century ago by the Sultan Barghash – competes for attention with Camlur’s Indian Restaurant, housed in the relatively non-descript building where Freddy Mercury of the rock group “Queen” was born. Arabic, Persian, Indian, and European influences intersect in the historic center of Stone Town, where you can just as easily find solace in a Roman Catholic cathedral as spy on batik vendors from the windows of a Portuguese fort, or enjoy the decor of a colonial Indian dispensary.

And as you wind through the town’s alleyways, to the chorus of greetings swapped between elaborately shuttered windows, stop for a bite of mantabali, or Zanzibar pizza – an assemblage of mince, onions, peppers, and tomatoes glued together with an egg-based dough. Or dilute the heat with a coconut drink while discussing the archipelago’s turbulent politics with the highly literate, mostly-Muslim men who congregate on barazas – low stone benches used as sidewalks during heavy rains.

Find long-term heat relief a short dalla-dalla (mini bus) ride north at Fuji beach. Share isolated stretches of white sand with the occasional wandering cow or hermit crab. Immerse yourself in the Indian Ocean, where farmers tend to crops of seaweed; when you emerge, refreshed, allow local entrepreneurs to massage your shoulders, braid your hair, or apply delicate henna patterns to the backs of your hands. For a few shillings, some will invite you to join their families for a post-relaxation meal of octopus, ink-black squid, and ugali – a floury staple resembling thick mashed potatoes.

It’s rare to find the pleasures of a beach resort and the magnetism of an historic cultural center so artfully combined – all to the beat of the island’s unique taarab music. Indeed, in Zanzibar Town, time appears to be suspended amid the heat waves emanating from its incandescent shores.

And travelers, bewitched, will find that the town continues to beckon – long after their golden tans, the scent of cinnamon, and the hue of henna have faded.