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Sunday, March 01, 2009

Zanzibar Islands: Luxury Beach Holiday and African Cultural Tours

By Andrew Muigai

The Island of Zanzibar is world famous for romantic vacations. The archipelago is however an equally important East African destination for cultural tours. Dr Livingstone's house, the Arab fort, the old stone town streets, the house of wonders, and the people's palace are some of the top cultural travel areas in Zanzibar.

The unique culture and history of Zanzibar bears varied influence from invaders and traders of the past, including the Omani Arabs, the Portuguese, and the English. Some cultural events in the Island portray this amazing fusion of different ethnic groups. These include the Zanzibar international film festival, the Persian new year celebrations " also known as Mwaka Kogwa " and Sauti za busara festivities.

Sauti za busara festivals, literally meaning sounds of wisdom, are held every February in Zanzibar stone town's old fort. The event is arguably the best music event in Swahili speaking East Africa. During the festivals, Stone Town's old fort comes very much alive. Performers at the event include taarab artists, bongo flava (a very popular East African music genre)stars, drumming troupes, and ngoma dancers.

The festival is very popular with the local population and is one of the annual highlights in Zanzibar's new approach to market itself as a leading global cultural tourism destination. As well as bringing international visitors to the islands, the event provides artists from the Swahili-speaking world with a rare opportunity to meet, exchange ideas, learn from each other and create. The sixth edition of Sauti za Busara was held on 12-17 February 2009 and the event drew artists from many parts of the world including West Africa, Europe and Australia.

Every July, Zanzibar hosts one of East Africa's largest cultural events going by the name Zanzibar International Film Festival (ZIFF). ZIFF presents an exciting and varied program of international film and videos, music, dance, drama and art exhibitions. In 2007, ZIFF celebrated its 10th anniversary.

As ZIFF gains international fame, the attending crowd gets larger with every passing year. ZIFF provides an unrivaled opportunity for promoting and preserving cultural understanding across the dhow countries of India, Oman and Tanzania.

The last week of July sees the village of Makunduchi celebrate Mwaka Kogwa, the Persian New Year. The festival is a riot of colour, filled with rituals and fun. During this festival, men are given the chance to mock fight each other with banana stems to clear any past dispute for the new year. Women on the other hand dress in their best clothes and sing songs about family, love and life.

The highlight of the Mwaka Kogwa festival is the traditional burning of a hut - said to signify the passing of the old year and the start of the new. This ritual is thought to ensure the safety of the village in case of fire during the year and to purge evil from the people and the land. After the fire and fighting there is song, dance, drumming and feasting. Hospitality is extended to all people as the locals believe that any villager without a guest will be the recipient of bad luck and the party goes on till dawn.

The above cultural festivities have earned Zanzibar an international reputation as a center for African cultural heritage. Getting to Zanzibar can be by sea or by air. Several international airlines operate flights to Zanzibar, including Air Mauritius, Ethiopian Airlines, Gulf Air, and KLM (with Kenya Airways). Visitors can get scheduled and charter flights from Dar es Salaam, as well speed boats for a sea trip to Zanzibar.

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