Bits and pieces of Dar Es Salaam

If you need a haircut...

If you need some chemistry textbooks...

If you have strong neck muscles...

And if you need to get your knives sharpened!

(Instructions: Climb on to bike, put on safety goggles, hold your blade flat against the whetstone, peddle like crazy!)

Dar Es Salaam markets

The Kisutu Market is one of Dar Es Salaam’s smallest markets, a cramped melee of stalls and spices piling into the street. There were plenty of vegetables and lots of roots; cassava and mantioc but also carrots, which was a bit surprising.

Of the fruits mangoes, coconuts and papaya were definitely the most popular, but we also found a small ‘atis’ (Mum's favorite fruit) section! 

Further back, the meat section was basically rows of wooden cages stuffed with live chickens looking very miserable – bit grim.
 

The Kivukoni Fish Market lines the harbor and is much bigger and more chaotic than Kisutu. The floor is thick with slops and fish guts, and the air saturated with that salty fish smell – it’s not as bad as it sounds!

By the time we arrived most of the big fish had gone, and though there were a few tunas, it was mostly heaps of sardines, some already crushed in plastic bags. 



A couple of long tables served as auction areas, where fish and shrimp were being sold to what looked like a panel of stern but beautifully dressed women.

Wooden fishing boats and dhows docked right next to the market in what seemed like a fairly chaotic mess.

Behind the market, the fish was being fried in huge vats of bubbling oil, fed by wood-fires. 

Cooks ladle the fish into these massive iron pots – a bit like woks – fry the fish to a crisp and sold at the stalls nearby. 

That’s a tough job. The fish looked tasty, but health food, it ain’t. 

Beyond, a dried mud field served as drying platform for thousands of small fish.

Streets of Dar Es Salaam

Today we briefly wandered the streets of Tanzania’s biggest city. Dar Es Salaam is a surprisingly likeable place, despite the heavy traffic, heat and obvious signs of poverty; mechanics fix bikes on the sidewalk, women stroll around with fruit, eggs and all sorts of fragile foods balanced on their heads, and Indian traders do deals in Swahili on every corner. With those ubiquitous mobile phone stores (and ads), SUVs and construction on every stretch, it’s more developing nation than the stereotype of poverty-stricken, hapless Africa so often portrayed on TV. Still, sad to see so many young men hanging around on the street, apparently with nothing to do, the legless, ragged beggars and plenty of hustlers selling newspapers, water, sweets – anything – for a few cents.

We had lunch in an excellent local place, half buffet canteen, half café called Chef's Pride. Inside it was a bit dark but cool and fairly relaxed – plenty of regulars were sipping their milky teas, chomping down toast and reading the newspapers. We opted for the coconut chicken, which was yum, and a beef plate that comes with hunks of what’s probably buffalo in garlic sauce – also quite yum. Both served with tasty, thick fried chipatis, perfect for soaking up that coconut sauce.

National Museum - Tanzania’s dusty old museum is getting a multi-million dollar revamp – our taxi went in the wrong way at first, and we spied what seemed to be a mainland Chinese foremen, overseeing the work – Fujian Construction was the contractor! He looked hopefully at Tiffany, but we drove off before she could offer any Putonghua greeting (he didn’t speak English – maybe he spoke Swahili??)

We were the only visitors to the museum, though the guard seemed very proud of it, and was keen that we see every single section. To be honest, until the new section opens, it’s not up to much and best known for Zinj -- the remains of one of earliest humans ever found, actually a human-like creature that lived 1.75 million years ago. It was chilling to look at the skull, though we have no idea if it was the real one or just a copy.