Exotic locations

Pavel Adrian
&
Bucica Constantin
Zanzibar
● Zanzibar is a semi-autonomous region of Tanzania. It is composed of the Zanzibar
Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, 25–50 kilometres off the coast of the mainland, and
consists of many small islands and two large ones: Unguja (the main island, referred to
informally as Zanzibar) and Pemba Island. The capital is Zanzibar City, located on the
island of Unguja. Its historic centre is Stone Town, which is a World Heritage
Site.Zanzibar's main industries are spices, raffia, and tourism.[6] In particular, the
islands produce cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, and black pepper. For this reason, the
Zanzibar Archipelago, together with Tanzania's Mafia Island, are sometimes called the
"Spice Islands" (a term also associated with the Maluku Islands of Indonesia).
Demography

● The 2002 census is the most recent census for which results have been
reported. The total population of Zanzibar was 984,625 – with an annual
growth rate of 3.1 percent.
● The population of Zanzibar City, which was the largest city, was
205,870.Around two thirds of the people, 622,459, lived on Unguja
(Zanzibar Island), with most settled in the densely populated west.
Besides Zanzibar City, other towns on Unguja include Chaani, Mbweni,
Mangapwani, Chwaka, and Nungwi. Outside of these towns, most people
live in small villages and are engaged in farming or fishing.
Ethnic origins

● he people of Zanzibar are of diverse ethnic origins. The first permanent residents of
Zanzibar seem to have been the ancestors of the Bantu Hadimu and Tumbatu, who
began arriving from the African Great Lakes mainland around AD 1000. They belonged
to various mainland ethnic groups and on Zanzibar, lived in small villages, and did not
coalesce to form larger political units.
● During Zanzibar's brief period of independence in the early 1960s, the major political
cleavage was between the Shirazis (Zanzibar Africans), who made up approximately
56% of the population, and the Zanzibar Arabs, who made up approximately 17%.
Today, Zanzibar is mostly inhabited by ethnic Swahili, a Bantu population. There are
also a number of Arabs as well as some Persians and Indians.
Religion

● Zanzibar has a government of national unity, with the current president of Zanzibar being Ali Mohamed Shein, since 1 November
2010.
● There are many political parties in Zanzibar, but the most popular parties are the Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) and the Civic United
Front (CUF). Since the early 1990s, the politics of the archipelago have been marked by repeated clashes between these two parties.
● Contested elections in October 2000 led to a massacre on 27 January 2001 when, according to Human Rights Watch, the army and
police shot into crowds of protestors, killing at least 35 and wounding more than 600. Those forces, accompanied by ruling party
officials and militias, also went on a house-to-house rampage, indiscriminately arresting, beating, and sexually abusing residents.
Approximately 2,000 temporarily fled to Kenya.
● Violence erupted again after another contested election on 31 October 2005, with the CUF claiming that its rightful victory had been
stolen from it. Nine people were killed.
● Following 2005, negotiations between the two parties aiming at the long-term resolution of the tensions and a power-sharing accord
took place, but they suffered repeated setbacks. The most notable of these took place in April 2008, when the CUF walked away
from the negotiating table following a CCM call for a referendum to approve of what had been presented as a done deal on the
power-sharing agreement.
Coastline off Zanzibar

Coastline off Zanzibar

A bird's view of the stone city in Zanzibar.
A panorama of Stone Town taken from the Indian Ocean. Seen in the picture are the Sultan’s
palace,House of Wonders ,Forodhani Gardens, and St. Joseph’s Catedral
Tourists in boat are chasing dolphins in the Indian Ocean near Zanzibar