| SPICE OF LIFE | | | | provides the backdrop for great snorkelling and |
| Exotic, colourful and above all fragrant, Zanzibar is | | | | world-class scuba diving. Above it, windsurfing, |
| the Spice Island, a place that thrives on its | | | | kayaking and state-of-the-art big game fishing are |
| centuries old association with aromatic cinnamon, | | | | favourite holiday pastimes. |
| cloves and cardamoms. Once a wealthy empire at | | | | Zanzibar also has a rich culture - best discovered |
| the hub of the Monsoon trading routes and the | | | | on a trip to its capital, Stone Town, recently |
| world's slave trading capital, Zanzibar still has a | | | | categorised as a UNESCO World Heritage site. |
| touch of mystery about it - which makes it | | | | Reputedly the only ancient town in East Africa still |
| perfect for a romantic interlude. | | | | flourishing, Stone Town has changed little since |
| Although Zanzibar consists of an archipelago of | | | | the 19th century. Winding streets and alleyways, |
| islands and islets, the largest of these - Unguja - is | | | | leading past more than 500 ornately-carved |
| confusingly known internationally as.... Zanzibar. A | | | | doors, take you back in time and yet the city is |
| separate state within Tanzania, Zanzibar is best | | | | very much a place where people live and work. In |
| known as a place to flop on the beach after the | | | | this colourful, highly scented labyrinth, veiled |
| exhilaration of an East African safari. Now a new | | | | women bargain noisily in crowded craft and food |
| night flight from Nairobi makes combining the two | | | | shops. |
| even easier - and a quicker hop to the beach. | | | | Away from the melée, the island interior is |
| And what beaches! The eastern coast has a long | | | | home to fragrant spice plantations - a real assault |
| stretch of perfect white sand beaches - | | | | on the senses. Exotic forests are scented with |
| uncrowded, often remote - fronted by warm | | | | the delicate fragrance of ylang-ylang, hibiscus and |
| aqua-coloured waters and interspersed with simple | | | | jasmine and the heady aroma of cloves and |
| fishing villages, where life goes on much as it did in | | | | cardamoms, which provide the ingredients on |
| times gone by. Under the water a coral reef | | | | which Zanzibar's spicy cuisine is based. |