Slaves, Ivory and Spices

We took a day trip to Stone Town to see and learn. Stone Town is the old part of Zanzibar city and has about 400 years of history as the main economic hub of the Island. it was originally settled by the Portuguese in the 1600s.  The first significant building was a fort that still stands today.

The first houses were built in the 1800s, and because the Island is largely a coral outcropping, coral and limestone were used. This was a unique form of construction in this area at that time, hence the name Stone Town.

At various times in its history, Stone Town, as was the whole of Zanzibar under the control of Oman, Germany, and Great Britain before the Revolutionary Government took control under the Republic  of Tanzania in 1964.  

Stone Town is best known for the Arab slave trade, sale of ivory from mainland elephant tusks,  and spices from Island's plantations. However, the Slave Trade was abolished in 1873. The sale of ivory from elephant tusks was banned worldwide in 1990, even though poaching continues today. Fortunately though for the area's economy, the sale of spices still thrives today as an economic driver. The streets of Stone Town were too narrow for cars and trucks, leaving only motorcycles, bicycles and hand carts to transport people and goods.

The market  was the highlight of our day, and it included fruit, vegetables, fish and other seafood, meat including beef, pork and poultry, and many other things too numerous to mention. It was quite chaotic, with merchants and customers buzzing. There were stalls in every nook and cranny, some in the hot sun and others in dark and dingy buildings. Smells accompanied the produce and products being openly displayed. Having said that, markets are one of our not-to-be missed places to visit while travelling, and Stone Town's market measured up with the best in terms of variety and an insight into the local economy .

Our guide, Ali, also took us to a variety of important buildings and landmarks in other parts of Stone Town, explaining their significance in the Town's history.

A little distance west of Stone Town, there are Spice farms or plantations. At one such farm, our colourful guide, Ramadan introduced us to all the spices grown there including cinnamon, cloves, ginger and more.

We got caught in a rain, that quickly turned the area's rich red clay streets to mud.

Our visit concluded with a traditional meal, seasoned with a number of the spices grown there.

We had a great day learning about how slavery, ivory and spices helped built Stone Town, and how the Island was woven into the fabric of neighbouring countries and the wilds of Africa.

Click here for the next story in this series: http://travellingwithsteveandmarlene.blogspot.ca/2016/11/kudos-and-other-things-african.html