About Zanzibar- Africa Natural Tours ( africanaturaltours.com )

About Zanzibar: Africa Natural Tours

AFRICA NATURAL TOURS (The best tour company in Tanzania)

Specialized in: Mountain climbing, Wildlife safaris, Cultural tourism and Beach holidays

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About Zanzibar

Zanzibar is a semi-autonomous part of Tanzania in East Africa. It is composed of the Zanzibar Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, 25–50 kilometres off the coast of the mainland, and consists of many small islands and two large ones: Unguja (the main island, referred to informally as Zanzibar) and Pemba. The capital is Zanzibar City, located on the island of Unguja. Its historic centre is Stone Town, which is a World Heritage Site.  

                                          

Zanzibar's main industries are spices, raffia, and tourism. In particular, the islands produce cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, and black pepper. For this reason, the islands, together with Tanzania's Mafia Island, are sometimes called the Spice Islands (a term also associated with the Maluku Islands in Indonesia). Zanzibar is the home of the endemic Zanzibar red colobus monkey, the Zanzibar servaline genet, and the (possibly extinct) Zanzibar leopard. The presence of microlithic tools suggest that it has been home to humans for at least 20,000 years, which was the beginning of the Later Stone Age.

 History of Zanzibar

Zanzibar was a base for voyages between the Middle East, India, and Africa. Unguja, the larger island, offered a protected and defensible harbor, so although the archipelago offered few products of value, the Persians settled at what became Zanzibar City ("Stone Town") a convenient point from which to trade with the Swahili Coast towns. They established garrisons on the islands and built the first Zoroastrian fire temples and mosques in the Southern Hemisphere.

The impact of these traders and immigrants on the Swahili culture is uncertain. During the middle Ages, Zanzibar and other settlements on the Swahili Coast were advanced. The littoral contained a number of autonomous trade cities. These towns grew in wealth as the Bantu Swahili people served as intermediaries and facilitators to local, Arab, Persian, Indonesian, Malaysian, Indian, and Chinese merchants. This interaction contributed in part to the evolution of the Swahili culture, which developed its own written language. Although a Bantu language, Swahili as a consequence today includes some elements that were borrowed from other civilizations, particularly Arabic loanwords. With the wealth that they had acquired through trade, some of the Arab traders also became rulers of the coastal cities.

Climate

The heat of summer (corresponding to the Northern Hemisphere winter) is often cooled by strong sea breezes associated with the northeast monsoon (known as Kaskazi in Kiswahili), particularly on the north and east coasts. Being near to the equator, the islands are warm year round. Rains occur in November but are characterised by brief showers. Longer rains normally occur in March, April, and May in association with the southwest monsoon (known locally as Kusi in Kiswahili).

Wildlife

Unguja

The red colobus of Zanzibar (Procolobus kirkii), taken at Jozani Forest, Zanzibar, Tanzania.

A dolphin in the Indian Ocean near Zanzibar

A panorama of Stone Town taken from the Indian Ocean. Seen in the picture are the Sultan's palace, House of Wonders, Forodhani Gardens, and St. Joseph's Cathedral

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