Visiting Dar es Salaam

Updated: July 9, 2000

Webmaster's note: During the SMU team's time in Tanzania, other members of the group will share information on their work and travel. Today's dispatch comes from Kent Newman, SMU fossil preparator and researcher.

Habari wa nyumbani!

As you have heard, we are well and slowly making progress for our departure into the field. To describe Dar es Salaam is to go back in time when the German empire was basking in the East African sun and demanding their beer, schnell. The old buildings are covered in diesel stains and dirt, and the bygone days of imperial Europe have long since faded. Even the scent of British efficiency has faded; now all that remains is the hustle of a developing nation trying to bring itself to the 21st century and having no blue print to accomplish the task.

Dar es Salaam was founded in the 1860s as a summer residence for the sultan of Zanzibar, whose palace is now an attraction in the city. During the 1880s, the city was further expanded by German colonial development and, in 1891, it became the capital of German East Africa. Today, it is a major seaport and seat of international commerce.

On a one-to-one level, East Africans are exceedingly polite and have a sense of logic that is beyond our limited comprehension. One can stand in the center of the city at the Askari Monument and easily see from the 19th century all the way to the 21st century in the span of a few blocks.... We're not in Kansas anymore.

Kwa Heri,
Kent Newman