Historical Sightseeing in Dar

Dar es Salaam as a city is not much older than a hundred years, when the German Colonialists decided to take advantage from the exquisite natural harbour and moved their capital from Bagamoyo to Dar es Salaam. A few Swahili graves hidden in a governmental office complex behind the harbour tower however indicate that there was a settlement earlier already. In the old times, there was great excitement when ships arrived. The ships brought goods from Europe and India, including letters and mail. Since those times, in Kiswahili parlance ships are called “maili”.
The start of the railway project in 1905 caused a major expansion of the town – the European population tripled during this spell – and for the first time a small number of wives joined their husbands. This led to the demand for better entertainment. The Kaiserhof Hotel opened, and became one of the social centres of the community, and a club was built. A row of beautiful Colonial buildings along the sea front quickly grew up at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century. Many of these buildings still stand, including the former Boma (an abbreviation for The British Overseas Mission Administration, which has been introduced into the Kiswahili language as a synonym for a fortified yard, as e. g. the Maasai in the North of Tanzania use it to protect their homesteads and cattle at night), the Railway Station, the German port, now ferry terminal for Zanzibar, and the so called Belbase, which was run by the Belgians for supplying Rwanda and Burundi by the Central Railway line, a Catholic and an Anglican Cathedral (note the distance between the two buildings!) the White Fathers Mission, the Town Hall, the Court, a Club and the Officer’s Mess. Many of these buildings have wide verandas for shade, and a narrow row of open windows just under the roof to catch the breeze. Wrought iron, tiles (look at the beautiful floors in the entrances of some of the Colonial buildings), pipes and pumps were all imported from Germany by ship. Fantastic tree alleys were planted. Each road had its own species – Persian Almond, Fire Tree and Acacia - that blossomed in a distinct colour at a certain time of the year. Some of these alleys have since been protected. Towards State House, senior Colonial officials stayed in mansions with extensive gardens, separate kitchen houses, wells, and bottom and top verandas, which later on were nationalized and turned into government offices. What is now the Cancer Research Institute was in 1905 the biggest hospital in Southern Africa, obviously for whites only. The building where nowadays the WHO offices are located used to host Robert Koch’s research lab, where he worked at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century on Malaria, Rinderpest and Sleeping Sickness. A hospital for Tanzanians was established only many years later by an Asian philanthropic. State House, which originally had a huge statue of Bismarck in front, was completely destroyed by the British, and later rebuild in the Mauric style. Karimjee Hall, named after and sponsored by a rich business man holding extensive sisal plantations in the Tanga region, hosted the first parliament of Independent Tanzania.
Behind the German buildings, the Asian traders district developed, first with one storey buildings only, a shop in the front, and living quarters behind, but with increasing wealth floors were added and some of the houses developed into beautiful mansions still standing and inhabited. Note that each of these buildings has an inscription with the original owner’s name and date of construction. There were offices of the importers and exporters, shipping lines, provision stores and chemists, outfitters, tailors (mainly Goans), and hotels (mainly Greek). The Asian community traditionally also invested in social structures, such as schools, libraries and clubs.
All nationalized by the “National Housing Corporation” during the Nyerere times, historical buildings in recent times have become victim of government’s plan to modernize Dar es Salaam down town – selling the plots with the historical buildings despite their cultural heritage protection status to new investors has gained more than one high level government official a fortune.
The Posta House was completed in the late 1970th by the Tanzanian architect Almeidia, who also gained recognition in Europe as one of the leading African Architects. Another high rising building behind the new port tower was built by the Israeli, who saw similarities between their Kibuz policy and Tanzania’s Ujamaa policy and supported the African state for a few years.
The Africans however lived at the Western edge in Kariakoo (the name originating from the British Carrier Corps), in a township originally laid out by the Germans in a coconut plantation that has once belonged to the Sultan. In the beginning there was no demarcation line between the Indian Asian commercial area and the African township of Kariakoo; one flowed imperceptibly into the other. The British blamed the Germans for this unacceptable “intermixing of cultures and standards” and decided to separate the two areas by clearing a broad strip of land between them to prevent the spread of fire, to create ventilation and to act as a “cordon sanitaire”. It became known as Mnazi Mmoja (One Coconut in Kiswahili) and is now an important venue for public gatherings as well as being the site of the Uhuru Torch Monument, marking freedom from British rule in 1961.
In 1923 the construction of the Selander Bridge across Msimbazi Creek opened up more land for European suburbs. The red tiled bungalows of Oysterbay were for the lower echelons of the civil service, far from luxurious, but in those days before air conditioning they had the advantage of being set in acre plots positioned to catch the prevailing breezes. Since, many of the bungalows have been sold to government officials. Many of the cottages however still stand, e. g. along Msasani road.
Relaxation and sports played an important part in the lives of the British and a as legacy from colonial India the Gymkhana club was built, on what was once a paddy field. On the pillared veranda, one could sip a sun downer – yet another Indian tradition – and not think at all about what layed to the West of Ingles Street…!
The Lonely Planet guide book indicates a good itinerary for an architectural sight seeing tour through the historical parts of Dar. For tailor made historical city sight seeing tours contact Professor Adolfo Mascarenhas (Tel. 022 277 40 11 or 0784 52 73 02; e-mail: mascar@udsm.ac.tz) who does not only know a lot about the history, the different ethnic groups having lived in and built up the town, but also numerous nice and amusing stories, illustrating past and currently life of the town vividly.
Well worth is also a visit to the Botanical Garden (which used to be much bigger, before the Holiday Inn Hotel was built!) and the National Museum in Dar es Salaam. Even though the exposition could clearly do with a brush up, the anthropological part about early humans in East Africa, with inputs from the Leakeys and other well known researches, is interesting, as well as are rare instruments and cult objects for worshipping of different ethnic groups of Tanzania. Look out for the numerous peafowl, which are said to originate from India and make a common sight in the historical part of down town Dar es Salaam.
The level 8 bar of Kempinski Hotel makes a great location to get a bird's eye view over Dar es Salaam and its various historical parts!