Revisiting colonial routes. For the first time, a water taxi connects Stone Town with the coastal heritage town Bagamoyo on the mainland. The trip takes about one hour. For tourists and residents, it opens up an excursion into the past.
The endeavour is the brainchild of Joanna Turner, a cultural entrepreneur and daughter of a boat builder from Zimbabwe. “I spent my entire childhood on boats'', says the long-time Bagamoyo resident. In the quaint town with huge historic roots, Jo, as she is called by friends, successfully runs “Firefly”, an already legendary Bohemian boutique lodge in the midst of the historic quarter. Eight years ago, she single-handedly restored the late 19th-century property with ten rooms and added camping spaces by the sea. The hotel has since become a fixture in Bagamoyo. Recently, Turner enlarged the lodge by adding a more upmarket west wing.
2024 is still young, but it has been a busy start of the year for Joanna Turner. With seemingly never-ending enthusiasm and a big heart for culture, she is tackling yet another business.
She could be seen lately restoring a historic mansion in Stone Town. The large coral stone building in the Hamam area, in an advanced ruinous state like so many properties in Stone Town, is set to become a Firefly branch in Zanzibar with a restaurant, live music, and hotel. “Without our interference, the building would have collapsed very soon”, Turner said during a site visit.
Mainland Bagamoyo: at the crossroads of history
10 am. Breakfast at the Firefly in Bagamoyo is served in the idyllic courtyard next to a pool. A film team from Germany has arrived – like so many before – to document what is left of “Deutsch Ost Afrika” (German East Africa), as parts of Tanganyika were called during German colonial rule from 1885 until the end of the second world war in 1918. Bagamoyo played a main role in the dark era of the slave trade in East Africa. Slaves were imprisoned here and transported to the slave market in Zanzibar by ship at night. Bagamoyo was also the starting point for explorers like David Livingstone on inland discovery missions. Livingstone’s dead body laid-in-state here in 1874 before being shipped back to England via Zanzibar where he was buried in Westminster Abbey.
Many of the sights in Bagamoyo are in danger of collapsing: “One could do so much more with the German Boma and other historic buildings here”, says Jo Turner, who came to know Tanzania during her childhood, and eventually settled here in 2009.
The Boma, the former German colonial headquarter, is still an impressive coral terrace building overlooking the ocean, but the dusty remains just sit empty and unrestored in an unkempt garden. The Old Colonial Post office with its original letter boxes has become part of a local hotel bar. The Old German Fort and a caravanserai in walking distance can still be visited.
A well-kept catholic church museum with a wooden terrace remarkably stands out from all the dilapidated monuments. The mission of “The fathers of the Holy Spirit’’ on the outskirts of Bagamoyo was the first catholic church to open in East Africa in 1868, devoting itself to the liberation of slaves through ransom payments. According to its chronicles, over the course of ten centuries, 1.5 million people were enslaved in East Africa. The museum also documents in detail the local Bushiri uprising against the Germans in 1891. A gentle breeze greets visitors. Church workers are on site to explain. “Bagamoyo is still authentic”, says Turner.
A place for art lovers
But Bagamoyo also has a more contemporary, artsy charm. Known all over East Africa, the Bagamoyo College of Arts (TASUBA), next to the German war cemetery, attracts visual and performing art students from many countries. The ensemble Bagamoyo Players has toured worldwide.
Walking along narrow India Street and the adjourning historic quarter flanked by ruins, one can discover the hippiesque Poa-Poa restaurant with Rembrandts on the wall, tea and pilau, and Nashe’s Café with a roof-top dining area, in moonshine nights resembling a Greek taverna.
In the town of 50,000 inhabitants, Jo Turner and a group of friends and expats are dedicated to not only keeping the heritage alive but infusing it with contemporary culture. Nashe owner Joan Akanashe showcases local acrobats; Janet Barber, an Australian Ex-ballet dancer, organises music events. Ally Bedford, another outstanding resident, settled in Bagamoyo after a career as political and social consultant in 107 countries. Jo Turner loves travelling, too, and has crossed the Atlantic three times by sail boat.
During Sunday jazz brunch sessions one might meet all these exceptional women chatting away at the Firefly. Bagamoyo means “lay-your-heart-down”. In some ways, Zimbabwean-born globetrotter Jo Turner has lost her heart to Bagamoyo, too. Until the next adventure calls.
GOING to Bagamoyo:
“Kama Upepo” reservations
Ph/Whatsapp +255 777 000 657,
Ig: kama_upepo
Firefly reservations: Ph./WhatsApp +255 762 519 612
www.fireflybagamoyo.com
