Travelling around Tanzania: 2012

Introduction

Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania , is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Ugandato the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south.

The country's eastern border lies on the Indian Ocean.

Tanzania is a state composed of 26 regions, including those of the semi-autonomous region of Zanzibar.

Tanzania is the home of the world-famous Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest mountain. The country has dozens of beaches such as those found in Zanzibar and world-appreciated national parks like the Serengeti and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, which generate tourism income that plays a vital part in the economy, but we gonna talk of it later.

Climate

Tanzania has a tropical climate. In the highlands, temperatures range between 10 and 20 °C during cold and hot seasons respectively.

The rest of the country has temperatures rarely falling lower than 20 °C . The hottest period extends between November and February (25–31 °C while the coldest period occurs between May and August (15–20°C). Annual temperature is 32 °C . The climate is cool in high mountainous regions.

Tanzania has two major rainfall regions. One is December–April and the other is October–December and March–May. The former is experienced in southern, south-west, central and western parts of the country, and the latter is found to the north and northern coast.
As this country lies near the equator, the climate is hot and humid. The easterlies winds cause rainfall in the eastern coastal region.

Language

Swahili language and English are the Official languages, however the former is the national language. Tanzanians see themselves as having two "official" languages, English and Swahili.

Swahili is seen as the unifying language of the country between different tribes, who each have their own tribal language.

English serves the purpose of providing Tanzanians with the ability to participate in the global economy and culture.

Culture

The music of Tanzania stretches from traditional African music to the string-based taarab to a distinctive hip hop known as bongo flava.

Famous taarab singers names are Abbasi Mzee, Culture Musical Club, Shakila of Black Star Musical Group.

Tanzania has remarkable position in art. Two styles became world known: Tingatinga and Makonde.Tingatinga are the popular African paintings painted with enamel paints on canvas. Usually the motifs are animals and flowers in colourful and repetitive design

Traditions

Tanzanian family is very close. Children are an important part of it, perhaps because very few manage to survive. The elders are revered, especially in the tribal settlements, since they represent wisdom. They are freedom-loving peoples, perhaps, because the breath from its source in the nature around them. Deeply respect the animals and the life cycle of the same.

The festivities in Tanzania are:

-January: 1st New Year celebration. 12nd, held in Zanzibar Revolution Day

-February: 5th commemoration of the Freedom Party

-April: 26th, Tanzanians gather to commemorate Union Day.

-May: 1st Labor Day.

-June: 7th, the Day of the Peasant party.

-December: 9th, commemoration of the Independence of Tanzania and the Republic Day. To end the year in Tanzania also celebrate Christmas with traditional foods and gifts for children.

Due to the large number of Muslims also commemorate the major Muslim celebrations among which are the beginning and end of Ramadan.

Indian and Chinese communities also have their own festivals.

History

Tanzania is one of the oldest known inhabited areas on Earth; fossil remains of humans and pre-human hominids have been found dating back over two million years. More recently, Tanzania is believed to have been populated by hunter-gatherer communities, probably Cushitic and Khoisan speaking people. About 2,000 years ago, Bantu-speaking people began to arrive from western Africa in a series of migrations. Later, Nilotic pastoralists arrived, and continued to immigrate into the area through to the 18th century.The people of Tanzania are associated with the production of steel.
Travellers and merchants from the Persian Gulf and western India have visited the East African coast since early in the first millennium AD. Islam was practised on the Swahili Coast as early as the eighth or ninth century AD.
In the late 19th century, Imperial Germany conquered the regions that are now Tanzania (minus Zanzibar), Rwanda, and Burundi, and incorporated them into German East Africa. During World War I, an invasion attempt by the British was thwarted by German General Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck, who then mounted a drawn out guerrilla campaign against the British.
From the late 1970s, Tanzania's economy took a turn for the worse. Tanzania was also aligned with China, to financed and helped to build the 1,860 kilometers long TAZARA Railway from Dar es Salaam to Zambia. From the mid 1980s Tanzania's GDP per capita has grown and poverty has been reduced.

Inhabitants

Tanzania has 43.188.000 inhabitants spreads in 945.203 km2.

Life expectancy is very low in Tanzania. The averiage expectations of live of men is 48 years and women 54 years. Infant mortality is very high.

Ethnic groups

The African population consists of more than 120 ethnic groups, the most known are the Maasais.

Religion

In Tanzania the 63% of the population are christians, the 35% are muslims and the other 3% follow indigenous religions groups. However this, the CIA World Factbook states that 30% of the population is Christian with Muslim being 35% and indigenous beliefs 35%.

Geography

Tanzania has a varied geography, including deep and large freshwater and salt lakes, like the lake Victoria or the lake Natron. Tanzania has many national parks and Africa's highest point is Mount Kilimanjaro (5,895 m)

Northeast Tanzania is mountainous and includes Mount Meru, an active volcano, Mount Kilimanjaro, a dormant volcano, and the Usambara and Pare mountain ranges. Kilimanjaro attracts thousands of tourists each year.

West of those mountains is the Gregory Rift, which is the eastern arm of the Great Rift Valley. Tanzania has a lot of craters, some of this volcanos are active that Mont Manu and others are dormants,as the Kilimanjaro.

Tanzania has also a lot of incredible beaches, as Zanzibar's or Dar es Saalam's.

So you have a huge variety of places where you can spend some days

Food

The most popular and cheap dish is ugali (mashed cassava similar to polenta) to eat (with right hand) served with a stew of meat and vegetables.

Rice is another staple in the country. Sometimes you just eat on Sundays.

In the north, try the nyama choma (barbecued beef or chicken), served in abundance.

On the coast, dishes are prepared cassava or plantains with cinnamon or cloves.

For tourists, serves grilled lobster, squid and fish with coconut.

In the restaurants of the lodges feel the influence of English food. Is the weight of the colonial heritage. In cities, you can eat in good restaurants serving Indian food.

Museums

Dar es Salaam has created the cooperative "Art House", which holds a constant work and exhibitions, concerts and ebony Mwenge market. This cooperative was created by an American religious and collects all the work of 200 artists who work concocting batiks, carvings, paintings, ceramics, textiles and clothing.

-The Sukuma Museum is one of the largest in the country, was founded in 1968, since when it promotes cultural production through traditional and contemporary art.

-National Museum located in Dar es Salaam, where a pavilion devoted to the ethnography of each of the tribes, plus a collection which includes archaeological remains of hominids extracted from deposits and medieval Swahili culture of the south.

-In this city also the Village Museum, it focuses on reproductions of various types of housing of different tribes.

Educational System

After gaining independence, improving education has been one of the priorities of the government of Tanzania. Primary education is compulsory and has experienced strong growth with increasing number of schools, although there are not enough places available to accommodate all children. It has also emphasized the adult literacy, and today, 80.2% can read and write.

Important people

As it sounds incredible, the singer of Queen, Freddie Mercury, was born in Zanzibar, Tanzania.

Here you've also have some information about hotels. As in flights, there are a lot of opcions where lie and get away from the rutine for a few days.

CHIC HOTELS

·Hilton hotel is a good opcion is you want have a wide range os services and comforts. If you want to visit Daar Es Salaam, this hotel is the most adapted. Here two pages with information about this faboulous hotel:

http://hilton.com/es/hi/hotels/search/newresults.jhtml;jsessionid=ZN4AXCDJQHFJCCSGBJBOD4Q?statusMsg=status_no_featured_brand_found.jhtml&searchType=city&null&adId=dynsrchID001&WT.srch=1&eventType=null&_requestid=70268

http://doubletree1.hilton.com/en_US/dt/hotel/DARDTDI-DoubleTree-by-Hilton-Hotel-Dar-es-Salaam-Oyster-Bay-/dining.do

·Pongwe Beach Hotel is a beautiful hotel in Zanzibar, and island next to Tanzania. This hotel maybe is the most beautiful in the island. Here you've got a web to get informed: http://www.pongwe.com/