In the book of the thousand nights and a night, also known as Arabian Nights, it says: "In my times no honest Hindu Muslim would take his woman-folk to Zanzibar on account of huge attractions and enormous temptations there and thereby are offered to them". Zanzibar is located between Mafia Island and Penbu and is a place which could not be more divers and exotic. The old stone city still shows the mix of Omanian, and Portuguese architecture and African elements. And so do the people. Zanzibar is a bright and colorful place, part of Tanzania, but still very distinct. This was the place where the early Africa explorers equipped their expeditions. One of them was for example Dr. Livingstone. Everything was traded here: spices, ivory, silk and the slave market reminds still today of one of the darkest chapters of mankind.
Zanzibar had a relatively peaceful past and was the place were the "shortest war in history" took place on 27th of August 1896. The immediate cause was, that when the pro-British Sultan Hamad bin Thuwaini died his immediate successor Sultan Khalid bin Barghash, failed to obtain the permission of British consul. After the ultimatum passed at 9 am in the morning. Then it took the British Navy 38 minutes to shell the palace into rubble, defeat the entire Zanzibar army and restore a more favourable Sultanate.
Zanzibar is for me a place where it is easy to get stuck in a positive way. And many people actually did, came for a vacation and then stayed and settled. Even it is still a long way to go, I have put Zanzibar on my list of places to consider when I retire one day - if I ever do.
