Dar es Salaam Tanzania / April 2012

In Arabic, Dar es Salaam’s literal translation is “the residence of peace”. It’s the largest city in Tanzania and according to Wikipedia, the largest city in eastern Africa by population and the most populous Swahili speaking city in the world. It’s Tanzania’s busiest port and handles 90% of the country’s cargo.

Louise and I were leaving Tanzania, via boat for Zanzibar. We’d been staying at her cousin’s place in Bagamoyo, a small coastal port 60 km north.  While cruising out, I spotted lots of dhows in the harbor and in the more open waters out front.

Dhow is the generic name of the traditional sailing vessels often used in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean region. According to Wikipedia, dhows have long thin hulls and are primarily used to carry heavy items like fruit, fresh water or merchandise along the coasts of Eastern Arabia, East Africa, Yemen and parts of South Asia. Louise and I had hired one for a sunset sail while staying on the tiny Tanzanian island of Lamu, near the border, of the not so friendly, Somalia.

These three dhows appeared to be having a casual race in front of us but as we overtook them, I quickly noted how the sun shone through their tattered and dirty canvas sails. There was a sort of translucency to them. Note that the middle one appears to have an aura surrounding its sail and that there’s a shadow of someone standing holding onto the mast on the other side, but the body is the reverse to what the shadow shows! Look to deck level and you’ll see two feet.

The surrounding shores with the dominant modern day building and communication towers so well spaced, seem so incongruous to the fact that these sailing vessels were perfected in 600 BC. I like the dull and muggy overcast haze of the city that’s in sharp contrast with the silver shininess of the reflecting waters. I have other photos coming that show countless dhows littering the horizon from Bayamoyo to Zanzibar. Stay tuned.