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Why Tanzania? - Town and Cities |
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Dodoma
Located in the heartland of Tanzania, Dodoma is
the nation’s official political capital and the
seat of government in the country. Comparably
much smaller and less developed than the
country’s commercial centre Dar es Salaam,
Dodoma remains a centre for national politics.
Situated on the eastern edge of the southern
highlands, the city is surrounded by a rich
agricultural area and pleasant scenery. It is
the centre of Tanzania’s growing wine industry
and the Tanganyika Vineyards Company is actively
promoting its products.
Historically, Dodoma was a stopover on the
overland caravan route that travelled from the
Swahili Coast inland towards Lake Tanganyika.
Early in the 20th century, the city became a
major point on the Central Line Railway, which
carried agricultural crops for export to the
harbour in Dar es Salaam. In recent times, the
town’s economic base has declined in favour of
the coastal city, but in the early days of
Tanzanian independence, there was a popular
political motion to move the entire government
to the town in the southern highlands. These
days, the government divides its time between
the two cities. |
Dar es Salaam
 Dar es Salaam is Tanzania’s largest city and its
economic capital. Located in a quiet bay off the
Indian Ocean coast, the city has grown in
economic importance to become a prosperous
centre in the East African region. Its bustling
harbour is the main port in Tanzania and its
industrial area produces products for export and
use throughout the country. Government offices
all have their main base in Dar es Salaam, and
diplomatic missions and non-governmental
organisations in the country all have a presence
in this bustling urban city.
During German occupation in the early 20th
century, Dar es Salaam was the centre of
colonial administration and the main contact
point between the agricultural mainland and the
world of trade and commerce in the Indian Ocean
and Swahili coast. Remnants of colonial
presence, both German and British, can still be
seen in the landmarks and architecture around
the city. The National Museum, the Village
Museum, and many colourful markets are well
worth a visit. Numerous historical landmarks,
including St Joseph’s Cathedral, the White
Father’s Mission House, the Botanical Gardens,
and the old State House make for an interesting
walking tour around the waterfront and city
centre |
Mwanza
The city of Mwanza is the major Tanzanian port
on Lake Victoria and a centre of economic
importance in the region. The lake borders
Uganda to the north-west, and Kenya to the north
east, and export and transport between the
countries is a foundation of Mwanza’s economy.
Around the city of Mwanza, the land is primarily
devoted to agricultural enterprise. Tea, cotton,
and coffee plantations throughout the area
produce large volumes of cash crops that pass
though Mwanza on their way to market.
For visitors, the city makes a good base from
which to explore nearby Rubondo Island National
Park and the western parts of the Serengeti.
Rubondo Island National Park offers pleasant
day-hikes and bird watching around the
lakeshore. Mwanza’s proximity to the western
Serengeti makes it a necessary stop for visitors
who want to experience a less busy part of the
park and see the magic of the Serengeti without
the parade of safari vehicles and seasonal
crowds. Mwanza is also the centre of the Sukuma
tribe, the largest tribe in Tanzania, who have
inhabited and farmed the region for centuries.
Cultural tourism programmes to their local
villages and farms can be arranged through the
local cultural centre.
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Mbeya
Near the Zambian border deep in the southern
highlands, the city of Mbeya is the major
agricultural capital in the country’s southwest
region. The Mbeya Mountain Range lies to the
north, and the Poroto Mountain Range lies to the
southeast. Coffee, tea, bananas and cocoa, all
of which are grown in the region, are sent to
Mbeya for packaging and transport. Mbeya’s
location also makes it an idea transit point
with good travelling by road and rail between
Tanzania and neighbouring Zambia and Malawi.
In addition to its agricultural prosperity,
Mbeya’s mineral wealth has attracted investment
and provides the country with a good source of
income. The town was originally founded in the
1930s, when gold was discovered and a ‘gold
rush’ ensued. But instead of the supply running
out and Mbeya becoming a ghost town, the city
has continued to supply the country with a
regular amount of gold. Its mountain views and
pleasant weather make it a good stopover point
for over land travellers heading south. |
Arusha
Located in the northern highlands of Tanzania,
beneath the twin peaks of Mt Meru and Mt
Kilimanjaro, Arusha is the safari capital of the
country. Guests embarking on the popular
northern safari circuit all stop in the ‘Geneva
of Africa’ to prepare for their journeys into
the African bush. From its two-lane streets, the
dramatic crater of Mt Meru stands over the town
like a majestic sentinel, its crater strewn with
thick clouds, its slopes dark with verdant
forest. Arusha’s ideal location near the major
national parks and its highland setting make it
a peaceful idyll of relaxation before the start
of an exciting journey.
Built by the Germans as a centre for colonial
administration in the early 20th century, Arusha
was a sleepy town with a garrison stationed at
the old boma and a few shops around a grassy
roundabout. From its backwater status amidst the
farmlands and plantations of northern Tanzania,
today Arusha is one of the country’s most
prosperous towns. The site for the United
Nations Criminal Tribunal on the Rwandan
genocide and the headquarters for the Tripartite
Commission for East African Co-operation, Arusha
is a major centre of Tanzanian diplomacy and
international relations.
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Bagamoyo
 These days, Bagamoyo is a centre for dhow
sailboat building on the Tanzanian coast. A
quiet village with a few German colonial
buildings still standing, it was once one of the
most important trading ports on the East African
coast, and the penultimate stop of slave and
ivory caravans travelling on foot from Lake
Tanganyika on their way to Zanzibar.
Missionaries active in abolishing the slave
trade made Bagamoyo a centre of their
activities. The name ‘Bagamoyo’ means ‘lay down
your heart’ in Kiswahili, and this is
particularly poignant given that the town was
the last stop on the mainland before captured
slaves were sent to destinations unknown from
Zanzibar, never to return. |
Kigoma
The bustling town of Kigoma is the regional
capital of western Tanzania and a central port
in the area. Located on the eastern shores of
Lake Tanganyika, Kigoma is surrounded by rugged
mountains and forests that make it a pleasing
and beautiful location. In the past, Kigoma has
been in competition with nearby Ujiji, but over
the last decades Kigoma has gained a strong
economic foothold in the region and its port is
of central importance to the activities of the
area.
Historically, the town was the final stop of the
Central Line Railway, built in the 20th century
to transport agricultural goods from the African
hinterland to the East African Coast. The town
makes a good overland base for visits and
chimpanzee safaris to both Gombe Stream National
Park and Mahale Mountains National Park. |
Moshi
Nestled at the base of Mt Kilimanjaro, Moshi is
the coffee-producing centre of the country. All
around the town, and on the slopes of
Kilimanjaro, vast plantations of coffee blanket
the area. Coffee is a mainstay of life in Moshi,
and the seasonal coffee auctions, where
international buyers bid for wholesale coffee,
is an event not to be missed if you’re in town.
Sugar plantations are also of central importance
to the region’s economy, and can be seen outside
the town. Cultural tourism programmes can
arrange short hikes and day-trips to tribes and
villages, and also tours of nearby coffee farms.
But the main reason visitors come to Moshi is to
climb Mt Kilimanjaro, the mountain whose thick
clouds and snow-capped peak tower over the
agricultural town. Climbing expeditions depart
for Kilimanjaro National Park early in the
morning, before the clouds that cluster daily
around the mountaintop have risen, and when the
air is fresh and cool. Whether you’re in Moshi
to scale to the top of Africa or learn more
about coffee growing and production, Moshi is a
quiet haven of tranquil peace, its sedate
streets offering a warm welcome in a beautiful
setting.
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Tanga
The bustling port of Tanga is Tanzania’s
secondary port after the urban centre of Dar es
Salaam. Although the port is a centre of marine
export, import, and trade, the town of Tanga
still has a quiet, laid-back feel to it, as if
not much has changed over the decades. Indeed,
along the older sections of the town, examples
of old colonial architecture and a few Arab
houses still give testament to the area’s
importance during the heyday of Indian Ocean
trade. The fish market and beaches make a
pleasant stop during a day trip, and the city is
a good place for buying supplies if you’re
headed to one of the more remote areas of
beaches on the northern coast.
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Tabora
The sleepy town of Tabora, in the hinterland of
western Tanzania, remains a key transit point in
the country. The Central Line railway branches
at Tabora to both Kigoma and Mwanza, and
visitors travelling by train often use Tabora as
a stopover point during their journeys. The
regions around Tabora are famous for the honey
they produce, and large jerry cans and bottles
of the famous nectar can be bought in the
village market.
Historically, Tabora was once a major trading
point and stopover for caravans that connected
Lake Tanganyika and Central Africa with the
coastal town of Bagamoyo to the northeast. Its
former importance is illustrated by the fact
that the infamous slave and ivory trader Tippu
Tip, who lived during the 19th century, made
Tabora the centre of his vast trading empire.
The town was also an important mission station
during early European exploration of Tanzania.
Stanley and Livingstone both stopped here on
their journeys. During the German occupation,
Tabora was one of the most populated and
prosperous towns in the whole of East Africa. |
Zanzibar
Zanzibar’s old quarter, also known as Zanzibar
Town, is a fascinating maze of narrow streets
and alleyways which lead past numerous old
houses and mosques, ornate palaces, shops and
bazaars. Many buildings in Stone Town date from
the 19th-century slave boom. Highlights include
the magnificent House of Wonders, the Palace
Museum and the seafront fish market in Forodhani
Gardens. The town is situated along the
waterfront, and has a number of wonderful cafes
and restaurants that overlook the sea and
magnificent sunsets.
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Pangani
 Once a centre of Swahili trade with the African
mainland, the town of Pangani is now a sleepy
backwater that little remembers its days of
splendour. An old German administrative boma
still stands behind a colonnade of tall shade
trees and the former prison, painted a fading
ochre red, looks over the river’s lazy waters.
Old houses along the main road offer lived-in
examples of colonial and traditional Swahili
architecture, the buildings slowly crumbling
against the monsoon winds. Visitors passing
through the area would do well to explore what
remains of the old town on foot. Even a short
walk rewards visitors with a glimpse of quiet
life in the old trading towns along the Swahili
Coast. |
Iringa
Located in the southern highlands of Tanzania,
near the country’s legislative capital of Dodoma
and the agricultural centre of Morogoro, Iringa
is a pleasant small town and a focus of regional
agriculture and production. Its streets are
quiet and peaceful, and the market offers a
colourful scene of traditional African culture.
Iringa overlooks the Little Ruaha River and is a
popular stopping point for visitors to Ruaha
National Park.
Historically, Iringa was a centre of colonial
administration. During German occupation, the
German military constructed the town as a
fortified defence against marauding Hehe tribal
warriors intent on driving them out of the
region. Gangilonga Rock, a site just outside of
the town, is a legendary spot where the Hehe
chief at that time, Chief Mkwawa, met with his
people and decided how to fight the Germans.
Iringa was also the site of several battles
during the First and Second World Wars, and
Commonwealth War Graves are located just outside
of town.
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