"My first taste of Africa" a Dar es Salaam Travel Page by Bwana_Brown

My two visits to beautiful Dar es Salaam took place almost 35 years ago and, ever since, the city has held a special place in my heart because it was the first time I had set foot on the African continent. Dar more than met my expectations, with its quaint and historic character and 'small city' appearance nestled among palm trees beside the Indian Ocean! I'm glad of that first impression in August, 1972 because I had volunteed to work for 2-years in Africa after graduating from university, and I was on my way to Luanshya, Zambia to take up my assigned posting. My second experience with Dar es Salaam came just over a year later, October-November 1973 when I decided to do some solo exploring by way of a major hitch-hiking/bus trip from Zambia through Tanzania to Kenya and back. This page details my experiences on those long-ago trips.

I'm glad I visited Dar when I did - I see that the latest statistics from Wikipedia put its population at about 2,500,000 versus the roughly 400,000 when I made my trips, no wonder it seemed like a small city then! Dar es Salaam was known as Mzizima ('healthy town' in the local language) in 1859 when the first European, Mr. Albert Roscher from Germany appeared on the scene in what was then German East Africa. The present name, which means 'Abode of Peace' in Arabic, became official only a few years later in 1866 when the powerful Sultan of Zanzibar decided it was more appropriate. Dar es Salaam has always been the most important city in Tanzania, but it lost its official status of the capital of the country shortly after I visited, when that title was bestowed on the city of Dodoma located on the inland plateau area. However, I'm happy to see that this is still a destination in Africa that continues to attract many tourists as they sample this friendly part of the continent.