THE SWAHILI COAST
The coast of East Africa is synonymous with the Swahili people and their rich cosmopolitan history. Swahili means "Coastal" in Arabic and refers to this beautiful historic region so rich in natural beauty, art and culture. Ancient Greek manuscripts show that that East Coast of Africa was paid historic visits by sailing vessels in classical times. In the 9th or 10th centuries came the Shirazi Persians from modern day Iran. Chinese, Japanese, Russians and Indonesian merchants and pirates, traders and adventurers, all arrived over the centuries that the Swahili Coast was the centre of a thriving commercial civilization. It had its own language, to which all the visitors made their contribution, its own economy and artistic traditions. While Europe was still getting out of the dark ages, the light of eastern civilization had already fallen on the Swahili Coast. Today, reminders of this magnificent past can be found up and down the length of the East African Coast.

Explorers, Sultans and Slave Traders all encountered Africa for the first time along this history-steeped coastline creating the events that were to define modern Tanzania, whilst the islands of the Zanzibar Archipelago were to become principal stepping stones for the culture that was to mould Tanzania's people and their language.

With large caravans laden with gold, spices, ivory, and slaves departing from Zanzibar, Kilwa, and other less prominent East African ports, Swahili civilization grew and flourished until the 15th century, when trade became more confined to Mombasa and Zanzibar.

Tanzania's eastern coast is gilded with 850kms of Indian Ocean beach and mangrove, bejewelled with tropical islands worthy of any modern-day castaway. The language of the country, KiSwahili, is bound up in the culture, religion and people of the coastal areas, their name derived from the Arabic word for coast, sahel. From Dar es Salaam, with its nearly three million people, to the faded colonial outpost of Pangani, the Swahili Coast is Tanzania's trade and commerce face to the world.

The town of Kilwa can date its authoritative Islamic architecture to the 13th Century when it was one of the principal city-states of the Shirazi empire. Bagamoyo hosted Livingstone, Pasha and Speke, before they set off on their historical destinies and was named by the caravans of captives, who 'laid down their hearts' there before they were shipped to Zanzibar's slave markets. Pangani, Tanga and Dar es Salaam were all outposts for first the German and then the British colonial administrations - and the Great War that separated them.

However, history is not alone amongst the charms of the Swahili Coast:

Saadani Game Reserve, north of Bagamoyo, offers a combination of beach and bush that lures lions and elephant to the Indian Ocean and entices visitors with its unusual mixture of game drives, boat safaris and Indian Ocean swimming.

Unguja, commonly known simply as Zanzibar is the main island of the Zanzibar archipelago. Rich in culture and history, it is surrounded by beautiful beaches and coral reefs.

Pemba, the hillier, more thickly-forested island in the north of the Zanzibar Archipelago, perches on a granite outcrop of the Indian Ocean and is home to some of the best diving and big-game fishing on the East African coast. Dedicated lodges and live-aboard boats furnish visitors with the perfect expression of their interests.

Mafia, to the south of the Archipelago, is home to big-game fishing good enough for Hemingway, coral gardens so fish-fertile that they are protected by Tanzania's first Marine Park and a standard of accommodation specifically- tailored for those in search of a low-impact beach holiday.