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The program will offer students tours of Zanzibar
and Tanzania. All tours are at program expense, with the exception
of the optional Safari, discussed below. The tours will offer the
student a chance to get the most out of the experience, while
learning a great deal about the history, modern day culture, and
politics of the region.
Finally closed down in 1873, after slavery had long been
abolished in most of the world, the Slave Market in Zanzibar
operated for over 60 years, with an approximate 60,000 slaves
passing through the market each year. We will spend a half day
at the market.
The town
of Bagamoyo, located on the mainland, is the oldest town in
Tanzania, founded at the end of the 18th century. “Bagamoyo” means
“the place where I lost my heart” in Swahili and it was the place
where the horrific transit into slavery began for many East
Africans. It has been described as “one of the most historically
compelling towns in East Africa.” Today the town has circa 30,000
inhabitants and is the capital of the District of Bagamoyo, recently
designated as a world heritage site. We will tour Bagamoyo and visit
the historic sites that mark and commemorate the origins of the East
African Slave Trade.
We will visit the Tribunal, located in Arusha, meet its
officials, and receive lectures on its work. It is likely that
the visit will occur at the beginning of the program, although the
actual dates are still subject to confirmation.
After the program concludes, students will have the opportunity to participate in a four or five day
safari in several of Tanzania’s world-class game parks on the mainland
(Serengeti, Ngorogoro Crater, Mt. Kilimanjaro, or Lake Manyara).
Enrollment in the safari will be limited to 30 persons, on a
first-come first-serve basis.
The Serengeti, the name being derived from the Maasai language
and meaning "Endless Plains," consists of grasslands and woodlands in
the Mara Region in Tanzania. It has more than 1.6 million herbivores
and thousands of predators. Blue Wildebeests, gazelles, zebras and
buffalos are the animals most commonly found in the region. This
area is most famous for the migration that takes place every year,
which is considered to be one of the seven tourist travel wonders of
the world. The area also contains the archeologically significant
Olduvai Gorge, where some of the oldest hominid fossils in existence
are found. Mt. Kilimanjaro is the tallest
free-standing mountain rise in the world, as well as the highest
point in Africa at 19,340 Feet. Kilimanjaro means “Shining Mountain”
in Swahili. The mountain is a stratovolcano, although not currently
active, and scientists concluded in 2003 that just 400 meters below
the summit crater is molten magma.
Ngorongoro Crater is the world's largest unbroken
volcanic caldera. The crater is 610m deep and the floor is 260km².
The steep sides of the crater mean that it has become a natural
enclosure for a very wide variety of wildlife, including most of the
species found in East Africa. Aside from herds of zebra, gazelle and
wildebeest, the crater is home to the "big five" (rhinoceros, lion,
leopard, elephant and buffalo). The crater plays host to almost
every individual species of wildlife in East Africa, and there are
an estimated 25,000 animals within it. Lake Magadi in the centre of
the crater is, like many in the rift valley, a soda lake supporting
flocks of flamingo and other beautiful bird species. Lake Manyara is a
shallow fresh-water lake in northern Tanzania. It is also the home of
a diverse set of landscapes and wildlife. Of the 127 square miles of
Lake Manyara National Park, the lake's alkaline waters cover
approximately 89 square miles. While best known for baboons, the
lake and its environs are also home to many herbivores, including
hippos, impalas, elephants, wildebeests, buffalo, warthogs and
giraffes. Giant fig trees and mahogany trees seen around the park
gates draw nourishment from the underground springs replenished
continuously from crater highlands directly above the Manyara basin.
There are also big cats. Leopards, although in abundance, are hard
to get a glimpse of, much more so than the other elusive feline
carnivores - the African lions - of this park. Manyara is
famous for its "tree-climbing lions" as the lions in this park make
a habit of resting and sleeping in the trees around the lake.
Wikipedia
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