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The islands of Zanzibar stir the imagination and conjure up images of magical Arabian nights, the scent of spices on the evening air and spirit of ages gone by. The name Zanzibar has such a romantic and exotic ring to it that some visitors are easily led to a comparison with “the ancient Baghdad of Haroun el Rashid”.

From a distance, the whitewashed buildings of the stone town apparently dancing on the waves of the Indian Ocean create the feeling of adventure and the excitement of going back in time. Zanzibar is part of the United Republic of Tanzania and is made up of a series of many islands, the main ones being Unguja and Pemba. Ungunja is better known as Zanzibar Island.

Zanzibar (Unguja) is in the Indian Ocean about 40 kilometers off the Tanzanian mainland, a few degrees south of the equator. The island is about 85 Kilometers long and 30 kilometers wide at the widest point. Most of the population live in the highly fertile North and West. The East of the Island is not suitable for farming and is covered in coral, but the beaches and reefs make it ideal for fishing villages and tourist resorts.

The people of Zanzibar are predominantly Muslim (about 95%) with their ancestory originating from Africa, Persia, Oman and Asia. The local economy is based on agriculture, fishing and more recently, tourism. The estimated population is 450,000, of which approximately 40% live in Stone Town. The literacy rate in Zanzibar is very high when compared to other African states in the region.