Month: July 2018

Zanzibar…..Stone Town, a world heritage site!

Zanzibar is a Tanzanian archipelago off the coast of East Africa. The archipelago, also known as Spice Islands, was famous worldwide for its cloves and other spices, and plantations were developed to grow them. Zanzibar is a semi-autonomous part of Tanzania. It consists of many small islands and two large ones: Unguja, the main island, referred to informally as Zanzibar and Pemba. The capital is Zanzibar City, located on the island of Unguja.

It is on the island of Unguja that I landed transiting in Nairobi from South Africa. The Unguja airport is small and unattractive. It seems as if time has stopped there. Arriving on a night flight, I was eager to get to my hotel situated some five minutes from the airport. The Zanzibar Beach resort boasts a long strip of beach. I couldn’t wait to discover the place.

First, let me tell you what brought me here. The African Union was holding a training on “Building Capacity on Entrepreneurship and Leadership for Youth and Women Empowerment” For the next few days we were going to have a a fully fledged programme around the theme in exotic Zanzibar. In the evening, I would explore the historic centre of Zanzibar City which is Stone Town, a World Heritage Site. I marveled at the narrow alleys of Stone Town, carved doorways steeped in history.

The name Zanzibar is derived from the Persian “Zang-bar” meaning “black coast”. The most important architectural features in Stone Town are the Livingstone house, the Old dispensary of Zanzibar, the Guliani Bridge, Ngome Kongwe (the old fort of Zanzibar) and the House of Wonders, a former sultan’s palace. The town of Kidichi features the Hamamni Persian Baths , built by the immigrants from Shiraz, Iran during the reign of Barghash bin Said.

Shaped by a turbulent history from slave traders and sultans to pirates and princesses, Zanzibar has an identity of its own. It is from this tiny island, explorers planned journeys deep into the heart of Africa, slaves relinquished their last hopes of freedom, mighty empires were built, battles waged and merchants amassed vast fortunes from the fragrant clove bud.

Despite its tiny size, Zanzibar holds an almost legendary status among travelers as an exotic island paradise blessed with palm fringed shores, timeless fishing village and lush spice plantations. Arab dhows drift across the turquoise waters,elegant in their simplicity beside the lumbering bulk of vast container ships anchored offshore.

Soon it was time to pack and I had to leave the dazzling beaches and coral reefs, cobbled streets of Stone town with the smell of spice. Zanzibar boasts an incredible history coupled with a fascinating culture which draw tourists to its shores…..a unique African experience!

Il est 5:30 du matin à l’île Poovar petit morceau de terre perdu au milieu de la mer et les rivières de kovalam à kerala… je suis assise sur mon tapis de yoga et je laisse la douce brise du matin me bercer tant la nuit à été chaude… et j’écoute je ne fais rien d’ autre , j’écoute. les yeux fermés, j’ecoute le silence… le silence de l’immensité… le silence de la mer! J’écoute la rivière qui me murmure ses secrets, ses songes, elle me raconte ses matins avant le levé du soleil … j’ecoute et plus Loin le chant de l’azaan , la voix cristaline du muezzin m offre un doux mélange avec cette autre voix, cette vibration vocale venue d’une âme pleine de dévotion. Cette voix féminine chante les louanges de la nature, les mantras Hindus et l’apel à la prière des musulmans rythmes par le cris des grillons, des crapaux et des oiseaux me bercent, m’enivrent…. ahhhh soudain des profondeurs de la terre se dégage tout doucement une autre vibration à peine perceptible Encore des chants, des sons des vibrations…tout invite au silence en moi… tout invite au calme, à la serenite.. à la réflection…

” Where is Pitu, Mommy ? ” …. Pitu was very old and sick, he was also very tired and went to take a very, very long nap, u know like a cat nap …, I explained to my son.
Except this time it’s a forever nap!
So today we will say goodbye to him and bury him with rose petals and then we will plant flowers on top of him so we will always see him everyday when we walk by Milans window . He will never be forgotten but instead we will now enjoy him in the form of flowers…
Zalen, ” Mommy, are the flowers going to meow ?” How sweet and innocent.

My son is five and my daughter is two and half. They both understood that our beloved cat was no longer physically around and that our family had just lost a very dear and important member.
It was interesting to watch the difference in their reactions due to their emotional maturity level : my son was very emotional when saying goodbye , while my daughter was more interested in repeating what I was trying to explain.
Up until losing our cat, my kids only experience of loss was losing a toy! This has been a rather big life lesson and although I’m no expert on how to handle death with kids, I do believe we explained it in its simplest form…. ” we are returning Pitu back to the earth ”

Where did the time go , she was just a baby” …. ” Enjoy every minute, they grow up so fast” … ” My baby is all grown up “..said every single parent ever!

It starts when you are about three months pregnant, strangers aka parents just can’t help themselves from engaging in baby bump banter at the sight of your protruding tummy. The remaining six months will sound like this …” How far along ?”…” It’s a boy isn’t it, I can tell by the way you are carrying “…”oh its a girl for sure, I can tell by the way you are carrying…” You have that pregnancy glow ” (meanwhile it’s sweat because you are carrying a mini human inside of you 24/7!…and my favorite, ” pregnancy suits you ” …as if it’s like this Summers’ latest trend off a Cavali runway.

The reason I chose this topic was because as I was grocery shopping with my two kids today, I noticed a pregnant lady and I was just about to say to her
” you must be carrying a little boy!”

I am one one of them now……
#stranger #parent