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Traveller's Guide: Tanzania

21.05.12

Vasco De Gama arrived in 1498, and his countrymen weren't far behind. The Portuguese ruled the coast for some 200 years until the Omanis muscled in. The Germans were next and, shortly afterwards, the British – whose arrival in the late 1800s marked the end of the gruesome slave trade that had thrived on Zanzibar since the early 18th century. The campaign was led by David Livingstone, who first visited Tanzania in 1866, searching for the source of the Nile.

This Friday marks 50 years of independence from British rule. Three years later in 1964, Tanganyika – as the mainland was then known – united with Zanzibar to form the Republic of Tanzania. The anniversary is being celebrated with a ceremony at the National Stadium in Dar es Salaam, the country's main gateway and commercial heart, but not the capital (that accolade goes to Dodoma).

Most visitors breeze through the city, bound for one of the 15 national parks or a patch of paradise along the 1,400km coast, but Dar deserves a day. The National Museum (00 255 22 211 7508; museum.or.tz/ dar.asp) on Shaaban Robert Street presents a fascinating insight into the national heritage. Tribal masks, traditional weapons and clothes made from tree bark are among the displays. Admission US$3 (£2). Across town is the district of Kariakoo, site of the city's liveliest produce market (dawn-dusk, daily).

Source: The Independent