May 5, 2025

New Dada New Orleans

New Orleans has become a sister-city of Zanzibar – mayors, chefs and universities are excited.

An American lady chef in Stone Town, Ashley Maybe of The Box in the old post office, was instrumental in getting the sisterhood between New Orleans (360,000 inhabitants) and Zanzibar City (216, 000 inhabitants) off the ground. Culinary, university and other cultural exchanges are planned. When New Orleans mayor La Toya Cantrell received Zanzibar mayor Ali Haji in the US in September 2024, the partnership officially started. “Zanzibar is one of the spice capitals of the world and New Orleans is a mecca for everything culinary”, Ashley Maybe noted. Also on board: Prof. Byron Bradley, a well-known New Orleans chef who has already visited Zanzibar.

Partner or twin cities are a global initiative fostering cultural and economic exchange. Started in 1947 after World War II to promote peace and unity, around 2,000 such partnerships exist worldwide. Famous examples include: Paris and Rome, San Francisco and Osaka (bridging East and West). Zanzibar’s partner city in Germany is Potsdam since 2017. Dar es Salaam partners with Hamburg, also in Germany – many joint workshops have been keeping that active partnership alive.

May 14, 2025

Air Traffic Triples in Four Years

More than two million passengers frequented the international airports in Zanzibar and Pemba in 2024. Nothing illustrates the tourism boom in Zanzibar better than the traffic numbers at Abeid Amani Karume International Airport (AAKIA) and the much smaller Karume Airport in Pemba. Between 2020 and 2024 the number of passengers more than tripled from 660,000

April 28, 2025

In a Different Time Zone

New private luxury island Bawe opens for business By Andrea Tapper The first of 19 private islands recently given away by the government, luxurious Bawe, has opened to guests. From Italian country style cooking to your own water villa on stilts – nothing is amiss in paradise. As long as you are prepared to part

April 28, 2025

Nothing Wasted!

Expert advice for taka-taka separation and recycling Fumba Town undisputedly has the highest standard in waste management in the whole of Zanzibar. But still, things could be improved if we learned how to separate our garbage better. Green expert Franko Goehse has some practical advice. Are you a clever or a lousy recycler? How well

April 14, 2025

Meet me on Sunset Drive

The streets of Fumba: named after flowers, Tanzanian classics and Swahili spices With more and more roads paved, a stunning highway-like entrance and about 1,400 homes sold, Fumba Town is ready to get street names. Signboards in green and white are in the making. It was the community that chose the names. On a Sunday

April 8, 2025

Football Fever

2027 Africa Cup of Nations in East Africa Africa’s biggest football tournament is coming to East Africa in 2027. Rumours have it that Zanzibar might yet become one of the hosts. For the first time the biennial soccer competition, the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) will be held in three different countries in 2027 –

April 8, 2025

The Glass Miracle

Chako upcycling creates 50 jobs There are bottles everywhere. Of course. This is Chako’s raw material! Chako (Swahili for yours) is the oldest glass collection company in Zanzibar creating handcrafted art products from waste. When we visit the factory near Bububu, more than 50 women and men are busy cutting used bottles into new shapes;

March 24, 2025

The Big Make-over

Who and what is behind the ongoing facelift of Stone Town of Zanzibar’s historic heart? By Andrea Tapper The historic quarter of Zanzibar is undergoing a massive overhaul and facelift. Exclusively for THE FUMBA TIMES, state conservator Ali Said Bakar and private investor Samuel Saba revealed their plans for the evocative make-over during a discovery

March 21, 2025

New Chance For Stone Town

EXCLUSIVE – Two men on a joint mission to beautify Zanzibar’s historic heart By Andrea Tapper Never before has there been a concerted action like this: The whole of Stone Town and several of its historical icons are being dusted-off, renovated, modernised, repaired and repainted. Two men have vowed to tackle the mammoth task. From

March 20, 2025

Enjoying Zanzibar during Ramadan

What visitors should know about the Holy Month By Winnie Mollel Contrary to what some people may think, Zanzibar is not off limits to tourists during Ramadan. In fact, the most holy month of the Muslim calendar can be an especially enlightening time. Ramadan (also written Ramadhan) is the fasting month in Islam, a time