Swahili Coast
The Treasure of Africa
Swahili means ‘coastal’ in Arabic, and the Swahili coast refers to Tanzania’s coastline and islands, a beautiful and historic region rich in history, natural beauty, art and culture. Ancient Greek manuscripts show that the east coast of Africa was visited by sailing vessels in classical times. They referred to the coast as Azania, hence the name Tanzania (Tan – Tanganyika; Zan –Zanzibar; and Azania).”
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n the ninth or tenth centuries came Shirazi Persians from modern-day Iran, sailing their ancient dhows across the Indian Ocean. Chinese, Japanese, Russian and Indonesian merchants and pirates, traders and adventurers, all arrived over the centuries during which the Swahili coast was the centre of a thriving commercial civilisation, with its own
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Dar Life I FEBRUARY 2021
language, economy and artistic traditions. Today, reminders of the -Ü> >Ã̽à >} wVi Ì post can be found up and down the length of Tanzania. The brassbound chests and heavy wooden doors of the Swahili Empire are found on a far island, imported originally by the Arabic slave traders who led caravans into the interior in search of
fortune. On the coast itself, crumbling mosques nestle among palm trees by white beaches and Persian baths lie ruined in the remains of ancient villas.
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Bagamoyo was once the centre of slave and ivory trading. It was the last point reached by the caravans of slaves who arrived here for transportation to faraway
