There were a few places on Zanzibar where I had impression that I'm near Moscow suburb. The nature around the road looks quite similar. However once I come to bus stop or enter the village this impression goes away.

A lot of Arab and Indians lived on the island. Which means there has to be a lot of spices. Nowadays it's really a huge industry. Tourists are allowed to visit spice farms and see how it works. There is even an opportunity to learn how which plant is used. For example this is annato from achiote tree which is used as a basis for a lipstick or food dye.

Kitchen for local farm workers. Doesn't look appetizing.

However people look very cheerful and buoyant. And sing a lot.

People are used to pepper in small balls. Have you seen how it looks like while it's still raw? This is how:

There were many other plants. The guide asked to guess which plant is which spice. Turns out that for average person who uses this as a spice only it's quite tricky.

As a reward I got a coconut. The juice was very good. Especially after a walk in such a hot weather. Somehow all the peels are left like this under the tree. Don't know why.

As a nice present I also got a tie from a palm tree and some fresh fruits. Plus a "nice" tour in shop with overpriced souvenirs. They just didn't know I was planning to go to Stone city afterwards. It must be much cheaper there.

Gas station.

Stone town begins with spice market. There only souvenir shop in Dar es Salaam was in National Museum. However I could find whatever I wanted on this market. So I just bough everything here. Fortunately sellers are happy to bargain and lower the price. It was fun :)

Some shops still sell CD!

Some cars are really old. Plus it's a bit dusty in town.

Nearby there is a museum of slavery trading. Somehow the only way to get there was only through some armed guards who even checked whether I have some weapons. I've no idea why it's needed here.
The museum itself mostly holds photos and texts how the trading was conducted, how people were gathered and trafficked. The most documented period was end of 19 to beginning of 20 century. When slavery was finally banned. In the end of exposition there was a banner with slavery situation in modern world. Even in 2020 millions of people are still affected by this.
For the full experience there is a cellar where slaves were kept before selling. It was hard to be there even when the room was empty. It's hard to imagine how hard it was for a couple dozen people sitting there in the same time.

This pictures are being sold on every corner. It looks so great!

The only business on these streets is souvenirs. I've seen nothing more. Just souvenirs. Well, and cafe. Still it was a joy to walk there.

Famous Zanzibar doors. They are everywhere. The most famous was under restoration, so I had to satisfy with whatever I found.

Nowadays is an active investment phase to city infrastructure. However some building under renovation, some are already gone.

Some look really fancy!

Exit to the ocean looks this way. Doesn't look like a good place to swim.

Ex sultan palace. It was under fire in the shortest war in world history. Just 38 minutes. However it's still not fully recovered.
Zanzibar wanted to get independence from Britain in 1896, but lost the war. They managed to obtain independence only in 1963. Which is 67 years later.

Nowadays a lot of women take a rest here. For some reason I didn't see men taking a rest nearby.

Even locals use sun protection!

Now it's time to fly away from this island. I got to the airport. Unfortunately the printer for boarding pass died. So a special guy just wrote one manually for me in some tiny room. Even the last name isn't fully written there. I've never flew before with a ticket like this.

There was no air conditioning in waiting area. There was no timetable as well. Just from time to time a special guy aired a voice message. Something really gibberish.
My flight was delayed for more than an hour. Well. Just nobody called for a boarding. And nobody knew why we have a delay and when will be a departure. The plane hasn't arrived yet. You will have a flight. May be. Just relax. Hakuna matata.
The departure fortunately happened in 1.5 from scheduled time. From the other hand I bought myself a t-shirt, while was waiting for boarding.