ZANZIBAR
ZANZIBAR
The Spice Island
PH.: Teddy Marks & Anna Ioannova
T.: Teddy Marks
The sun was setting. Very gently. It bathed the sea and sky in flaming tones from orange to violet. Far on the horizon dark clouds rode on the tropical winds between the continent and Zanzibar. What a natural spectacle.
Zanzibar - many travelogues about the Spice Island in the Indian Ocean begin in a similarly poetic way.
Yes, I am also inclined to write a little exuberantly about Zanzibar, because every moment of the ten days of this completely spontaneous journey was a pleasure.
I must confess that when I flew to Zanzibar for the photo production, I was not quite prepared for the country, not because I was not particularly interested in it, but simply because I lacked the time to do so. The trip was ultraspontaneous. In the evening a direct flight from Düsseldorf and bang, the next morning you're already there.
Not so long ago Zanzibar was an absolutely elite luxury holiday destination, and here in Germany most people only knew Zanzibar in connection with a noble cult restaurant on Sylt.
The island is like a concentrate of Africa, all cultures and religions boiled down and extracted to a few square kilometers.
Africa, East Coast, Island, Instagram-Paradise and Shabby-Chic Tourism were the keywords I was thinking about, but that was it. The island is like a concentrate of Africa, all cultures and religions boiled down and extracted to a few square kilometers.
The average annual income is 250 US dollars. Over half of the population lives below the poverty line. It is estimated that about 12% of the children suffer from acute malnutrition. Everyone who comes to Zanzibar and is blinded by luxury hotels and paradise beaches should internalize this and never forget how privileged they are.
The people are wonderful, even if it is their job here and there to be wonderful to the rich tourists from the far corners of the world, a world that remains unrivalled for most of the islanders.
I was supposed to meet with Anna Ioannova the day after, model and artist from Russia, who wanted to relax for a few days on the nearby island after her Kilimanjaro trip. After several studio shoots and the famous Mickey Mouse project, the opportunity was there to get really creative in front of a tropical backdrop. We felt like shooting twice a day in front of and in gorgeous sceneries and had to struggle with rough terrain, cows on streets, a leaky half-empty pool, and unbelievable aromas and smells, actually making us want to eat all day long.
The beaches of Zanzibar are incomparably magnificent.
On the east coast, at the end of paths lined with mango trees, extravagant coconut and other tangerine, apple, kapok and plumeria trees, Zanzibar takes you to a veritable postcard of white sandy beaches. The strong tides make the coast look completely different almost every hour. From dawn onwards, women on foot fish squid, crustaceans and fish, in zigzagging on a bottom, covered with sea urchins and their long spines.
In the evening, these beaches, strongly influenced by high and low tide, offered us a great backdrop for unique photo shoots.
Pole Pole
We really took it very relaxed, The "Pole Pole" (Swahili = slow) has you at the latest on the second day. We were incredibly lucky to have one of the pool villas with a huge seawater pool right on the beach all to ourselves. No other guest was on the premises. You can't get better than this if you want to take some pictures for MARLEY Magazine without being disturbed. After two days we found out the reason for this remote paradise. The pool, which was still quite well filled on the first day, was only half full after three days. The elderly sweetheart was licking like crazy. Thus, we were the last guests in this villa at the beach for the time being, as afterwards, the pool was renovated.
So the pictures with Anna published here in MARLEY Magazine exclusively, are the last pictures of this pool.
After arrival at the airport, I took a taxi directly to the east coast of the island, using the only paved road that leads there. The last part went through the village of Jambiani, which like most small villages without electricity stretches between the coastal road and the beach. The roads there are sandy tracks, with potholes so big that one should stop, especially in the dark to see if there are any children playing in these pits. I was knocked out of my seat several times and although I have never ridden a rodeo before, I could imagine what it was like to be tossed back and forth on the back of a wild mustang.
Then I arrived at the Mamamapambo Boutique Hotel, a real pearl right on the beach and was warmly welcomed by Hassan and Martin, with whom I was to have many more funny and friendly conversations the following evenings over convivial drinks.
The next morning began, like every other morning after, with a picture book sunrise. The palm trees rushed gently in the wind and there I stood on the beach with my first real Zanzibar coffee, as a nearly non-coffee-drinker an experience for all taste buds. Then I took a taxi on my way to the airport again. The model Anna will arrive today and from tomorrow on the first photos will be taken, the results of which will of course be shown here in MARLEY Magazine.
On our first exploratory trip to the north-east, chance led us to the Upendo Hip, Chic & Boutique Resort. Upendo is Swahili and means "love". And as affectionate as the name, this paradisiacal spot is also designed directly on the beach. Modern luxury meets island tradition and combines eastern inspirations with western classics.
Between futuristic design and Swahili traditions lie the magnificent villas, lovingly decorated by the owner, overlooking the sea and The Rock, the famous bar-restaurant built on a rock just off the beach. A very private, colourful and trendy paradise, Upendo is also known for its Sunday brunches to the sound of international DJ sets. In the evening, when the sails of the dhows disappear behind the coral reef on the horizon, the sunsets are simply breathtaking.
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The Spice Island
Now comes the sentence most of you have been waiting for. You can't possibly take pictures all day long, lying on the beach and watching the pool while licking and sipping damn tasty cocktails. You also have to think about food. Honestly, food is a dream everywhere. That Zanzibar always has the name "Spice Island" in the subtitle can't be described better with a single word. I have rarely eaten so fantastically fresh and simply delicious.
With quite a portion of melancholy we left the Upendo in north-west direction with a stopover at a Spice Farm. We visited the "Big Body with Tatata" Spice Farm near Kizimbani. A visit to this Spice Farm is absolutely recommendable. Everything that makes your mouth water grows there: Bananas, cocoa, pepper, cinnamon, pineapple, papaya, vanilla, coffee, passion fruit and so much more. In a tour of barely two hours we learned in a very funny way a lot about the tropical fruits and their cultivation and processing.
The crowning conclusion was a private guided tour through an extremely extensive palm grove and a five-minute photo session in the middle of a jungle-scenery.
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The West Coast
At our penultimate station we reached the Z Hotel in Nungwi after a long drive. It is the first design hotel on the island, built in 2010. Designer furniture by Philippe Starck, breathtaking sunsets and numerous gin-tonics motivated us euphorically to take many more super cool pictures. Mostly just like that, by the way, and 100% authentic Anna. Only to be seen here at MARLEY Magazine.
Stone Town
The last leg of our tour took us to Stone Town, the capital, a magnificent little town whose architecture was alternately influenced by Portuguese, German, Arab and English. Like a kind of African Havana, it is a labyrinth of very narrow streets, a tangle of deliciously decayed palaces, spice and fish markets that enriched our olfactory memory for a long time. Some monuments like the House of Wonder, the birthplace of Freddy Mercury, the Arab Fort or the Forodhani Gardens, where small stalls with grilled fish open every evening, are more than worth seeing.
We spent the nights at The Zanzibar Coffee House Hotel. It offers a touch of magic and romance in an authentic Arabic house deep in the heart of Stone Town. Transformed into a stylish hotel with harmonious interiors, antiques and rich fabrics, it is one of the oldest buildings in Zanzibar constructed in 1885. It is a totally magical experience and makes you feel like stepping back in time. You can’t get enough from the breakfast on the roof terrace, whether it is the food or the view. Amazing.
Short and sweet:
Zanzibar is a dream. The beaches are paradisiacal, such as those in the catalogue on the west coast, or changing tides on the east coast and therefore rougher and more exciting.
Zanzibar is unbeatable in smells, markets, originality and nativeness.
Remarkably far away from any tourist places is the silence and the calmness by day, and the darkness at night.
Those who have read it all the way to here can now enjoy a little anecdote:
Speaking of darkness. In many regions of Zanzibar there is hardly any electricity and certainly no street lighting. At starry night the view into the night sky is simply sensational. A dream. At this point I will spare myself the cliché that one feels infinitely small in view of this endless vastness out there. I have only seen so many stars and galaxies in the Californian Desert near Slab City.
When I drove back after sunset from my day trip on the coast road with a scooter I had borrowed for a handful of dollars, I drove in absolute darkness and there was hardly any traffic on the road. No one had approached me for minutes or drove anywhere behind me.
I often looked up while driving and could hardly take my eyes off the millions of light spots up there. Only the faint sparkle of my scooter illuminated a few more meters of road in front of me, otherwise it was absolutely dark around me. Fascinating and frightening at the same time. I made the crazy decision to switch off the few watts of light that flickered through the night from the scooter light for a little moment to experience this moment of absolute darkness. What could happen? The road went straight out. Nobody was here. Nobody?
So, I took the throttle off until I was just imperceptibly rolling and switched off.
A freezing shiver of panic came up immediately inside me and all synapses of my body seemed to want to give my thumb the command, switch on again, switch on the damn light again! Then I looked up and felt like Rose and Jack at the bow of the Titanic, only without Titanic and without light and without Rose. So I rolled there, on the road of darkness, wrapped in the flashing glitter of the countless galaxies from horizon to horizon. Breathtaking.
After this short moment of unconsciousness and the streaming happiness, my thumb, which had so far bravely resisted all commands from the logic sector of my brain, set the reluctant flickering sparkle on the scooter in motion again. I wanted to accelerate again, when I suddenly looked at something big and dark in the middle of the street in front of me. I went into the irons and came to a halt only a few meters before it. A head turned slowly towards me and I looked into the tired eyes of a ruminating cow. It is amazing how many details from dangerous situations one remembers later.
While I was up there looking for pigs in space, here cows were chilling in the middle of the road in absolute darkness. Just an odd second later and I would have sent one or two cows to the eternal hunting grounds, and probably myself along with them.
Teddy Marks
ZANZIBAR - THE STORY
Photography & Story: Teddy Marks
Additional Photography: Anna Ioannova
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