DURATION: FREE TO GO ON YOUR OWN

Zanzibar: Mesmerizing Arab Architecture & Spices

Zanzibars’ history was influenced by the Arabs, Persians, Indians, Portuguese, British and the African mainland. Ruled for centuries by the Sultan of Oman, Tanzania’s laid-back archipelago is home to a vibrant blend of African, Islamic and Portuguese architectural and artistic styles! Stonetown, a World Heritage Site and the historic center, is a place of winding lanes, circular towers, carved wooden doors, raised terraces and beautiful mosques.

Zanzibari cuisine reflects several heterogeneous influences, as a consequence of the multi-cultural and multi-ethnic nature of Zanzibar’s and Swahili heritage. It is a mixture of various culinary traditions, including Bantu, Arab, Portuguese, Indian, British and even Chinese cuisine.

A walking tour through plantations, picking bunches of leaves, fruit and twigs from bushes and inviting you to smell or taste them to guess what they are. You can find pretty much all the ingredients of the average kitchen spice rack are represented – cinnamon, turmeric, ginger, garlic, chillies, black pepper, nutmeg and vanilla among many others.

Alongside the spices grow a mouthwatering array of fruits, which depending on season will include pineapple, mango, jackfruit, lychees, bananas, papaya and the notoriously smelly Durian fruit (‘smells like hell, tastes like heaven’). All these are available to be feasted on as you walk around the plantations.