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known locally as
Unguja, but as Zanzibar internationally is actually an
island off the coast of
Africa and owned by Tanzania
Official name: United
Republic of Tanzania.
Population:
24,500,000 (estimate
1990).
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Situation:
East Africa.
Timezone:
GMT + 3
Area:
939,652 square kilometres /362,706 square miles.
Borders with: Burundi,
Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
Coasts:
Indian Ocean.
Capital:
Dar Es Salaam.
Major Towns: Arusha, Mwanza,
Tanga, Zanzibar.
Religion:
Christianity (35%) on the mainland. Islam on Zanzibar Island.
Currency:
Tanzanian Shilling divided into 100 Senti.
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The 
of Zanzibar are
known as Zanzibaris and their native language is
Kiswahili, commonly known internationally as Swahili, which is spoken
extensively in East Africa.
Many believe that the purest form is spoken in Zanzibar as it is the birth
place of the language.
97% of Zanzibar's population practices the Islamic
faith.
,
Zanzibar used to be the world's largest producer of cloves, and its history
was heavily influenced
by the this activity. 
The late 
reddie
Mercury, who was lead singer and front man for the band Queen,
was born in Zanzibar on 5 September 1946. His name then was Farouk Bulsara,
and
his father was an accountant working for the British government in the House
of
Wonders in Zanzibar Town. His family had emigrated to Zanzibar from India
but
were originally of Persian extraction.
Zanzibar's brilliant white beaches lapped by the warm turquoise waters
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of the Indian Ocean provide the perfect place
to relax, soak up the sun and take a
break from some busy sightseeing.
The 
eaches in Zanzibar
are a paradise, interspersed with picturesque fishing villages,
where the people live a simple way of life, unchanged over the years. There are
more
than 25 fantastic beaches in Zanzibar, and some are so peaceful and remote that
the
only noise breaking the silence is likely to be the ocean.
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limate
Tropical climate with high temperatures and humidity on the coast and
islands. Average daytime temperatures 23 Celsius from June
to September and 27 Celsius from December to March
Zanzibar is blessed with an average of
7-8 hours of sunshine daily.
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Economy
Agriculture: Chiefly agricultural: Cloves, coffee, cotton, rice, sorghum,
sugar,
coconuts, tobacco.
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Zanzibar is also know as the Spice Island.
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Spice tour
visitors go from plantation to plantation and from plant to plant trying
to find the spice within.
A guide may use a knife to carve off a root or branch or bark and then ask you
to smell or taste
it to guess what it is spices including the
following: tumeric, tandoori, vanilla beans and extract,
masala, hot chillis, black pepper ground or whole, cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon sticks or powder,
saffron (from where?), ginger, and many others.
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Zanzibar City has approximately
100,000 inhabitants.
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The food at Zanzibar, one can also expect wild excesses. The food is a
fusion
of Asian, African, Caribbean and Polynesian influences and it’s spicy,
spicy,
picy. Dishes are carefully
prepared and elaborately served in coconuts,
pineapples and colourful plates and you can order "zoups",
"zalads" and I suppose, house "zpecialities".
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The cocktails. The "Mambo 
ilkshake", a wildly delicious
concoction of dark and white rum with coconut ice cream and milk, comes in
a
coconut. The "Nana Zanzuiri" is really banana daiquiri in disguise;
the
"Caribbean Colada" is infused with soursop nectar and served in a
pineappple and how about "Zangria" , red wine with tropical fruits,
grand marnier, rock candy and vanilla essence. There is also a variety of
non-alcoholic cocktails like the "Sun Lounger" and "Watermelon
&
Papaya Batido".
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A large proportion of the world's population have
heard of Zanzibar, and the name
conjures up all sorts of exotic images. Only a small proportion of the
world's
population know where Zanzibar is.
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