Diplomatist Special Report - Tanzania Tanzania 2018 | Page 56

Marine Resources
Tanzania boasts of exceptional, world-class marine assets
with about 804-kilometre long coastline of fi nest unpolluted
beaches in Africa, offering unlimited opportunities for water
sports and leisure. Beach resorts in the island of Zanzibar are
featured as single destination attractions and, frequently, as an
add-on to the wildlife safaris. Pemba and Mafi a Marine Park
are pristine islands promoted mainly for their coral reefs and
for big game fi shing. SCUBA divers who have dived in the
Red Sea, Australia and other parts of the Indian Ocean have
described diving sites in Pemba, Mafi a and parts of Zanzibar
as world-class. Deep-sea fi shing is done mainly in Mafi a and
the Pemba channel (a 2400-ft. deep channel separating the
island from the mainland). Many of Tanzania’s lakes and
rivers are suitable for freshwater fi shing, with Lake Victoria
one of the best known for the same.
7-year-old Indian boy creates a new
world record of climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro
A free-standing, snow-covered dormant volcano,
majestic Kilimanjaro is the highest mountain in Africa at
19,341 feet (5,895 meters). Recently, a seven-year-old boy
from Hyderabad, India scaled the highest peak in Africa, the
Uhuru peak of Mount Kilimanjaro. Samanyu Pothuraju, along
with his coach, unfurled the Indian flag at a height of 5,895
meters above the sea level on April 2. He has become the
youngest mountaineer in the world to scale Mt Kilimanjaro.
The trek began on March 29 when the team started from the
base point. It took about five days for the team to reach the
peak. Everybody says that you need no experience to climb
Kilimanjaro. That is correct as in that you need no climbing
experience. There is no technical skill required at all. It really
is nothing more than an uphill walk. (With possibly a bit of
scrambling on the “Barranco Wall”, depending on the route
you choose.)
56 •TANZANIA
Rich history
All around the country there are fascinating reminders
of Tanzania’s rich, colorful and stunning history. The major
historical sites include: Stone Town in Zanzibar Town on the
world renowned spice island; Bagamoyo town which was the
major centre for ivory and slave trade and later became the
capital city of Tanganyika during the German colonial rule.
Kilwa, a small coastal town about halfway between Dar es
Salaam and the border with Mozambique, is the springboard
for the island of Kilwa Kisiwani, which was once East Africa’s
most important trading center. The Kilwa ruins are among the
best examples of Swahili architecture and the marine setting
is beautiful. The Olduvai Gorge, northwest of the Ngorongoro
Crater, has provided signifi cant fossils (some discovered by
the Leakeys) related to early hominids as well as hominid
footprints at Laetoli estimated to be 3.7 million years old.
Stone age ruins at Isimila, near Iringa are one of Africa’s
most important historical sites.
The People and Cultural Diversity
In spite of having more than 120 tribes, each with their
own language, cultures and traditions, there is a sense of
oneness created and enhanced by the Swahili language
spoken by every Tanzanian citizen from rural to urban
spaces. Tanzanian culture has been a solid foundation for