Good afternoon, dear tourists!
For those who have not yet woken up, I remind you: you are in Tanzania, the largest state in East Africa. This is an amazing country: nowhere else in the world you will find such an amazing combination of rich history, pristine nature, hospitable people and amazing wildlife. Tanzania - from this word the heart of all lovers of adventure, safari and just a good rest in communion with nature beats more often.
Forget everything you read on Wikipedia - now I will tell you about the real features of this wonderful country.
Location
Tanzania is a huge country in East Africa with access to the Indian Ocean. The name of this country came from two parts of this region: Tan - from Tanganyika and Zan - from Zanzibar. The pearl of this country is the Zanzibar archipelago, consisting of 75 islands, the largest of which are Zanzibar and Pemba. Coconut palms, white sand beaches,
an ocean so blue it hurts your eyes - if you like to bask in the tropical sun, you have come to the right place
Adventurers can also have a great time here - for them, Tanzania is a huge entertainment ground. What is the Serengeti National Park worth - its area is almost 15,000 square kilometers, and hundreds of animal species coexist perfectly here. Millions of tourists come here just for one epoch-making spectacle: in October and November, whole herds of wildebeest (about a million live here) and more than 200 thousand zebras migrate from the hungry north to the south,
where there are tropical showers and full of delicious grass.
vegetation quickly surrenders under the onslaught of hungry hordes of animals, and already in June zebras with antelopes rush back. These migrations continue for thousands of years,
and the ancient instinct still drives the herds to places where the conditions for life are better.
The largest lakes in Africa are located on the territory of the country: Tanganyika, Nyasa and Victoria. Tanganyika is called the twin of Baikal, the water here is so clean and transparent, and the size is quite comparable to the largest Russian lake. Tanzania is a country of plateaus, but oddly enough, it is here that the highest mountain in Africa, Kilimanjaro, is located. Its height is 5895 m.
Tanzania is also a country of contrasts, so here the highest mountain of the continent is adjacent to the impressive Ngorongoro Crater.
It was formed more than 2 million years ago - as a result of the collapse of an ancient volcano. Now this huge hole in the ground attracts many tourists: at the bottom there is a large lake Mgadi, around which unique flora and fauna have formed - living organisms cannot get out of the crater, therefore they have adapted to life in unusual conditions. A whole colony of flamingos lives here,
which attract naturalists. The ecosystem around has not changed for more than a million years - and this crater is called the eighth wonder of the world.
In Tanzania, there is another world-famous lake, which is called deadly or killer. It is unlike anything else in the world: the water has a red, orange and green hue. The water in it is hot, the temperature reaches 60 degrees Celsius. The water contains a lot of salts and alkalis - therefore,
the animal world is extremely scarce here. Only 3 adapted to life in such harsh conditions.
species of small organisms, one species of fish - alkaline tilapia and one species of birds - lesser flamingos.
All other representatives of the living turn into mummies from salt and alkali, falling into the blood-red water - there are a lot of such mummies on the shore
Climate
The weather here is ideal for tourists - the season is all year round, the ocean is always warm, and the air temperature is kept within 28-30 degrees. High humidity and constant sea breezes make the climate mild and comfortable. There is a rainy and dry season here - but their change does not mean sudden changes in temperature. In the transition from one season to another, the surrounding landscape simply changes - under tropical rains,
the savannah comes to life, turns green, small lakes and streams fill up, and when the dry season comes, it looks more like a land scorched by the sun.
Story
Everyone who had an A in geography at school knows that Africa is the cradle of humanity. Who knows, maybe Tanzania became this cradle? It was here that the remains of a skilled man were found - a transitional individual between Australopithecus and man. These artifacts are over 2 million years old! True, there are more ancient traces of upright walking - they are more than 3.5 million years old! Then other tribes appeared here: natives, relatives of the Bushmen, Kushites and Bantu. Gathering, hunting - these were their main occupations. But this was not for long - in the 5th-6th century to Tanzania came across Persian and Arab traders.
From the mixture of immigrants from India, Arabia, Persia and African slaves, a new nationality appeared - Swahili.
Since the discovery of Tanzania by Arab traders, the commercial career of the country begins. It becomes a major trading center, a transit point between Africa and Asia. What did not go through the local trade routes: spices, fruits, fabrics, silk, products ... And of course, slaves.
Black slaves would continue to be the main source of income for the Tanzanians for a long time, until the British colonialists abolished slavery in the 19th century
Active trade led to the flourishing of Tanzania - just think, already in the Middle Ages,
when no one had heard of tolerance, there was already a multinational settlement in which representatives of different nationalities and even races coexisted.
British rule is preceded by the invasion of the Portuguese - the conquistadors owned all the major ports of Tanzania, but after 100 years they received a serious rebuff from the Muslims. The era of the British has come - by the way, Tanzanians still call themselves an African country with English orders. True, not everyone liked these orders: for example, the British unleashed the shortest in history, but from this no less bloody Anglo-Zanzibar war - when the wrong sultan, according to the British,
ascended the throne. The shelling of the Sultan's residence lasted for 45 minutes, until the unworthy pretender fled.
There were battles during the First World War, and in the port of Zanzibar, on the ocean floor, there is even a British cruiser sunk by the Germans. There was a revolution in history - in 1965, a popular uprising came here with massacres, expropriations of property and other delights.
But the country was not mired in a civil war, but quickly got out of civil strife and became a presidential republic.
If you still do not understand that Tanzania is a special country, I will say that it was here that Freddie Mercury, the lead singer of the Queen group, was born and spent his early childhood. I will add some more interesting facts: the average age of citizens of Tanzania is 18 years. Among the 55 million inhabitants, only 2% are pensioners.
Here, 7 times more often than in the rest of the world, albinos are born, and scientists have not yet figured out what this is connected with.
The country has two capitals: Dodoma and Dar es Salaam, which share administrative functions. There are also two official languages: Swahili and English, but few people know English, so do not try to speak it with an ordinary Tanzanian.
It is forbidden to export currency from the country - remember this when crossing the border.
The Maasai tribe still lives in Tanzania, observing the ancient traditions of their ancestors. Among tourists, they are known for their very unusual concepts of beauty. In early childhood, girls wear a ring around their neck, adding more and more as they grow. As a result, the neck is unnaturally stretched - this is considered the height of beauty among the Maasai. Tanzania is special and different for everyone.
I am sure that by the end of your vacation you will be able to make your own list of the features of Tanzania - go on an adventure!