zanzibarrrrrr

i think it sounds kinda exotic to say, but expensive to get here. 100$ visa and 70$ ferry ticket to the island from dar es salamm on the mainland. it's a fantastic old stone city, think the caribbean meets africa and a generous dollop of muslim, mossy decaying colonial buildings with unhinged unpainted shutters and archways ornately designed in arabic fashion. neato but they know what they have here and the locals are more ravenous then anywhere about "getting theirs." we are taking a tour of the spice trail today, as zanzibar was a major stopover port from the indian subcontinent to the western world.



doors are really cool (betsy moyer would love it). the story goes that there are indian and arab doors. the indian ones have these metal spikes sticking out, which are remnants from india where elephants were used to ram their way into compounds. as the indian spice merchants settled in zanzibar they brought this with them as a reminder of home and also as a status symbol, as metal was precious and ornamental.