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Dar from our hotel room, Indian Ocean in background
We arrived at our hotel, Tanzanite Executive Suites, at 4 AM, caught a few hours of sleep, and joined the rest of our tripmates for breakfast. After hugs, coffee and stories, it was time to explore the city on foot.
Dar is the principal city of Tanzania, a major African seaport and home to about 5 million people. It has a rich colonial heritage, beginning with Arab sultans and continuing with German colonels and English governors before returning to African control in 1961.
Sidewalks in Dar are narrow and often end abruptly....
Today it is an intriguing juxtaposition of first-world aspirations and third world realities, as some of the following snapshots suggest.
in one way or another
...so pedestrians take to the streets, which cars don't willingly share.
Traffic round-about with public art and big-ass billboard
New construction on rickety legs!
Dar from harbour
Local fishing boats, laundry day
Modern container ship passes street vendors
Harbormaster and conning tower for a bustling port
The guy on the left pulls this cart stacked high with sacks of produce
A predominantly Muslim city, this mosque near our hotel issues calls to prayer 5 times a day (including around 6 AM)