Zanzibar

Zanzibar

Stone Town · Jozani · Kiwengwa 2015 49 photos

Two October weeks on Unguja — Stone Town's cathedral, curio shops and the sober stone figures of the slave-trade memorial, dhows on turquoise water, the mangrove boardwalks of Jozani, giant tortoises and a sea-turtle sanctuary, seaweed farmers working the low-tide lagoons, and the palm-shaded village of Kiwengwa on the east coast.

The sun dropping into the sea beyond the harbour The slave-trade memorial: stone figures chained in a sunken pit, Stone Town Christ Church Cathedral rising over Stone Town's former slave market A Stone Town cat dozing on blue-painted steps Carved wooden masks covering a curio-shop wall Rows of carved masks in a Stone Town curio shop Masks and trinkets hung across a shop wall Masks and carvings crowding a curio-shop display Inside a Stone Town curio shop, every surface covered An album of old Zanzibari postage stamps in a curio shop Close-up of a carved and painted African mask Ebony figures and carvings on a shop shelf Carved wooden figures gathered in a curio shop Coral-stone ruins under the palms outside Stone Town The open-air amphitheatre inside Stone Town's coral-stone Old Fort Weathered walls of a ruined palace by the shore A colonial-era building behind its seafront lawn Red-roofed waterfront restaurant standing over the shallows Dhows and fishing boats moored in a turquoise bay White-sand beach fringed with casuarina trees A pineapple ripening on its spiky plant A handful of small wild fruits offered to the camera Mangrove prop roots arching out of the tidal mud A quiet channel winding through the mangrove forest Mudflats and seedlings on the mangrove floor at low tide The wooden boardwalk threading through Jozani's mangroves A local guide showing a shell on the shore Green sea turtle surfacing in a sanctuary pool Sea turtle gliding just beneath the surface Portrait of an Aldabra giant tortoise, head raised Hand-feeding greens to a giant tortoise The armoured scales of a giant tortoise's leg, up close Giant tortoise resting in the shade of a tree Seaweed farmers working their lines in the low-tide lagoon Sea turtles crowding a sanctuary pool, seen from above Sea turtle paddling along the stone edge of its pool Sea turtles basking together at the pool's rim Rescued sea turtles gathered in the sanctuary pool Feeding time at the sea-turtle pen A flagged turtle pen staked out in the shallow lagoon The reef flats stretching out at low tide Bare white sand curving toward the water Pale sand, pale sea — the east coast in midday light A makuti-thatched beach pavilion by the shore The ZanView restaurant terrace above Kiwengwa Kiwengwa village half-hidden in its coconut palms The Kiwengwa coastline panorama from the ZanView terrace Rooftops of Kiwengwa scattered among the palms Looking out over Kiwengwa village toward the sea