Bagamoyo
The town of Bagamoyo, Tanzania, was founded at the end of the 18th century. It was (also spelled Bagamojo) the original capital of German East Africa and was one of the most important trading ports along the East African coast. Today the town has about 30,000 inhabitants and is the capital of the District of Bagamoyo, recently being considered as a world heritage site.
Bagamoyo was the most important trading entrepot of the east central coast of Africa in the late 19th century. Bagamoyo's history has been influenced by Indian and Arab traders, by the German colonial government and by Christian missionaries.
About 5 km south of Bagamoyo, the Kaole Ruins with remnants of two mosques and a couple of tombs can be dated back to the 13th century, showing the importance of Islam in those early Bagamoyo times.
Kaole Ruins in Bagamoyo, Tanzania
Until the middle of the 18th century, Bagamoyo was a small and insignificant trading center where most of the population were fishermen and farmers. The main trading goods were fish, salt, and gum, among other things.
In the late 18th century Muslim families settled in Bagamoyo, all of which were relatives of Shamvi la Magimba in Oman. They made their living by enforcing taxes on the native population and by trading in salt, gathered from the Nunge coast north of Bagamoyo. In the first half of the 19th century, Bagamoyo became a trading port for ivory and the slave trade, with traders coming from the African interior, from places as far as Morogoro, Lake Tanganyika and Usambara on their way to Zanzibar. This explains the meaning of the word Bagamoyo ("Bwaga-Moyo") which means "Lay down your Heart" in Swahili. It is disputed whether this refers to the slave trade which passed through the town (i.e. "give up all hope") or to the porters who rested in Bagamoyo after carrying 35 lb cargos on their shoulders from the Great Lakes region (i.e. "take the load off and rest"). Since there is little evidence to support that Bagamoyo was a major slave port (Kilwa, much further south, has earned this status), and that tens of thousands of porters arrived at Bagamoyo annually in the latter half of the 19th century, it is more likely that the name of the town derives from the latter interpretation.
The slave trade in East Africa was officially prohibited in the year 1873, but continued surreptitiously well to the end of the 19th century.
In 1868, Bagamoyo local rulers, known as majumbe, presented the Catholic "Fathers of the Holy Ghost" with land for a mission north of the town, the first mission in East Africa. This caused resistance by the native Zaramo people which was mediated by representatives of Sultan Majid and, after 1870, by Sultan Barghash. Originally the mission was intended to house children who were rescued from slavery, but it soon expanded to a church, a school, and some workshops and farming projects.
But Bagamoyo was not only a trade centre for ivory and copra; it was also a starting point for renowned European explorers. From Bagamoyo they moved out to find the source of the River Nile and explored the African inner lakes. Some of these were Richard Francis Burton, John Hanning Speke, Henry Morton Stanley and James Augustus Grant. Although often believed so, David Livingstone had never been to Bagamoyo in his lifetime.
Only after his death he was laid out in the Old Church's tower (nowadays named Livingston Tower) to wait for the high tide to come in and ship his body to Zanzibar.
Bagamoyo was the German headquarters of German East Africa (first under the auspices of the German East African Company and then the German Imperial Government) between 1886-1891. Dar es Salaam became the new capital of the colony in 1891. The town was apparently the (1895) birth place of SS-Oberführer Julian Scherner. During World War I, in 1916, a British air attack and naval bombardment was launched on Bagamoyo, the Germans were overrun and the German garrison taken.
When the German Empire decided to build a railway from Dar es Salaam into the interior in 1905, Bagamoyo's importance began to decline.
Today
Today, Bagamoyo is a centre for dhow sailboat building. The Department of Antiquities in Tanzania is working to maintain the ruins of the colonial era in and around Bagamoyo and to revitalize the town. The Bagamoyo College of Arts (“Chuo cha Sanaa”) is an internationally famous arts college in Tanzania, teaching traditional Tanzanian painting, sculpture, drama, dancing and drumming.
Pangani
The name Pangani owes to the river that runs through northern part of the Historical Town. Pangani is a very old town, it is believed to be established before 6th Century BC as a coastal dhow port, but later became a station on the caravan route from Late Tanganyika for exporting slaves and ivory. Several historical sites in and around the town serve as reminders for the strong Arabic influence and the later German, British colonial era in Tanganyika. The town served as port, when sisal plantations were set up in the colonial period, before the Tanga Harbor constructed. Nowadays it is mainly a fishing town with a lot of coconut trees, providing nice beaches for quiet vacation.
Pangani is situated about 50km south of Tanga on the mouth of River Pangani that flows from the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro
Attraction: Pangani Falls, a water fall that provides electricity for Tanga, Dar es Salaam, Arusha and Moshi. Boat Safari on the Pangani River, which hosts birds and crocodiles. Maziwi Island, which was submerged due to environmental destruction and the effect of the global climate changes; is a nature reserve which provides ground for snorkeling opportunity and dolphins tour. Walking tour in the historical town to see some of old buildings aged more than 200 years old, visits to a former slave labor camps and slave market site.
Pangani is close to the Saadani National Park (especially on the Mkwaja side) the only place where one can see wildlife basking on the beach.
Amboni Caves are natural limestone underground caves formed during the natural Jurassic age around 150 millions ago. There are 10 caves, with fascinating chambers, the longest is about 900m long. One of the caves is used for guided tours, some are up to 13 meters high. They form the most extensive cave system in East Africa.
The caves have religious significance to the local people who pray and make offerings in one of the shrines. The caves are very dark inside and potentially lethal. There have been reports of fatalities incidents when people made the tour unguided.
Several stories about the cave are told on the cave tours. There is for example the story of two European ex-army officers. After World War II they tried to explore the caves, with heavy equipment and accompanied by a dog. They never returned, but their dog was found a few months later outside another cave. The dog was identified by its ID tag. What makes the story a spooky legend is the place where the dog was found: 400km away at the foothills of Mt Kilimanjaro.