Today, April 26th, is the hard won 48th birthday of Tanzania!
Britain and Germany had long been the colonial powers in eastern Africa and the nation of Tanganyika was no exception. But British rule came to an end in 1961 and Tanganyika peacefully moved into independence with Julius Nyerere as its President. Just offshore on the small island nation of of Zanzibar, however, a long-standing Arab dynasty remained in place even after the British gave the country its independence in 1963. Only a month later, the bloody Zanzibar Revolution was underway and thousands of Arabs and people of Indian descent were either killed or expelled. On April 26th, 1964, the two nations merged to form Tanzania of which Zanibar remains a semi-autonomous region.
Why do we love Tanzania? For the eye-opening diversity and integration between excellent wildlife viewing and fascinating cultures, for the mighty Mt Kilimanjaro and tranquil white beaches of Zanzibar, for the remarkable Great Migration and for all the hidden corners like Mahale Forest and Ruaha National Park that make this a destination worth discovering over and over again.
