Exploring Zanzibar's History - Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown

Welcome to Zanzibar [Music] I went looking for the the dream of Africa I woke up in [Music] Tanzania I took a walk through this beautiful world felt the on my shoulder [Music] found something good in this beautiful world I felt the rain getting [Music] [Applause] CER sh sh [Music] [Applause] [Music] good [Music] [Music] the narrow streets and neatly dressed school children of zanzibar's stone town make it feel like a very different Africa than I've ever known it's tight small the architecture speaks of many layers of a hierarchy long gone but still [Music] evident the famous zanzibari doors for instance meticulously carved of mahogany and teak the patterns reveal details of the original inhabitants ethnicity and professions brass spikes evoke similar doors in India the lotus flower a historically Egyptian symbol is meant to promote fertility and chains a reminder that this once was a central Hub of the slave trade [Music] what Zanzibar is today is definitely and overwhelmingly Muslim 99% of the population and you see its strong influence everywhere you look the children in hijab coming from the madrasa the streets are neat and private homes even of the very poor are maintained with great pride the call prayer five times a day Zanzibar part of Tanzania but also a semi-autonomous state sits just 30 Mi off the coast of the Mainland the minute you cross the ocean from Mainland I me you into ston toown you feel like you're in a different country and a different culture different vibe Sal s is a native Zan zabari and former tour guy and he knows his way around these parts so what are our options here this is what we call mandazi mandazi a classic Swahili treat basically an African donut or flipper and bajas a fried lentil Fritter Indian spiced with Exploring Zanzibar's Stone Town cumin turmeric and coriander d a cup of coffee yeah let's do it if you live here if you're from here chances are you start your day with some bitter spiced coffee talk about the issues of the day politics for one maybe a pastry you like yours oh that's good so you're born and bread here in how long has your family been here how far back you guys know I'm half Indian half African and my mother has been here fourth generation fourth generation so that's uh starting out in late 1700 wow who built stone who built this neighborhood construction started in about 1830s during the Portuguese Colony we had Portuguese yeah right omanis stayed from from 18 uh 46 they left in 1964 but they lost a lot of power in 1896 confused let's take a step back the Persians were the first major power to set up here back around 975 ad expanding their empire onto the strategically positioned Island then the Portuguese used Zanzibar as a hub for their slave trade and spices then the omanis did the same ultimately with the British who ruled R through them 1964 Revolution as with most revolutions the days following were violent chaotic and ugly after overthrowing the mostly Arab government reprisals was an independence this revolution where more than 3,000 Arabs are slaughtered and a lot of Indians are slaughtered and removed out of this country but your family stayed my family stayed why there was no money in the family for them to move out so was just an there was no option no option to stick with what was left tough times very tough [Music] times and about 2 hours from Stonetown this is jambiani a tiny fishing Village here the first revolutionaries would meet and plan for an independent Zanzibar zanzibar's first post-revolution president Abid ammani karum served until his assassination in 1972 this too is Abid karumi grandson of the country's first president well what was the situation back the political situation back then well it wasn't good basically it was the English on top Arabs in the middle right and then the Africans are way way at the bottom and uh it it was a form of apide you know was this Village sort of a center for revolutionary this Village was was important in terms of the political support prior to the revolution when my grandfather and my grandmother were staying right here and they had meetings on the field right History of Zanzibar's Revolution over there that's where they would have their meetings to raise support for the Afric African and sherazi people their identity this objective was to give equal rights to all people of zanbar of course revolutions aren't the best thing sometimes when it comes to Peaceful transition well this is uh the house of one Hassan and Baka they're preparing a wonderful lunch for USA this is she used to take care of my my grandmother many many years ago I'm looking forward to lunch beaka was a close family friend to a beid and his grandparents and she's putting together quite a spread coconut rice freshly caught fish called tassi simmered in broth of garlic and lime top with M Choi a fresh salad of chopped tomato eggplant cucumber and potato another fish kabua or mackerel marinated in lime juice and garlic then pan fried now this is good wa that's looking good so coconut rice yeah chapati bread yep that's it from the other side other side of the water there that's it this is Cava Cava two different types of and fried bread wow what a spread here and uh you can use your hands good fish I can do by hand the uh the rice I help good what do you think of the MoGo nice huh the Cava lovely yeah good the rice is great too whatever your feelings on revolutions it is probably worth remembering that they start in places like this people talking and when they are won they are often won by people who sat at the feet of the original planners people who look like this look all these kids watch out future revolutionaries like new ideas coming in that change things comes from them think about it I mean the challenges we face as a as a small island country doesn't the whole world faced a similar challenge yeah how to preserve all these things and how to find balance for me I see Africa as a whole uh I see very interesting time hopeful I'm very hopeful actually Traditional Fishing Village optimistic I am optimistic I I think that joh people are great people and they given the opportunities I think they can they can put a lot on the table not only for themselves but also for the culture of East Africa and possibly even the world I think they're great people why not gu is a limit right [Music] say you're going to zanab Bar and people will tell you about the street food it's pretty impressive in ston towns for Donnie Gardens every night vendors set up an insane variety of every iteration of seafood snack oh yeah oh I love some of that the first one he we got the Cher Bron we got some shrimps we have a octopus calamari Niki with Masala spice we have a scol up shell fish we have a m small shell we have like a tuna fish blue mal ready sniper Kai mahim Mahi and ready spp good so welcome I think uh let me try some uh some of the octopus so how about lober uh yeah with Masala spice but it's not hot when you feel hot we give you CH I like hot all right good you give me some chili mango with that okay good [Music] octopus chewy but tasty Lobster working for me too spicy for you man yeah believe me only one of us is going to be [ __ ] like a mink tonight it's not going to be you ooh the famous ends of our pizza awesome onion beef tomato fresh cheese mayonnaise with egg sounds awesome to [Music] me looking good thank you M weird and wonderful and damn these stands are extremely popular with locals and visitors alike so of course the government raised the rents one guy Juma decided to pick up and move his place a bit out of town his customers came with him hey Juma hey Juma how are you so what we have it yeah your choice have beef on the steak chicken on the steak half chicken and all the spices and sauces that they have right I've ordered beef for now beef good let's get half a chicken half a chicken yeah sure jumas is famous for his chickeny the bird is slathered with a mixture of garlic lime coriander Ginger salt and pepper then it's grilled and served either as saut or whole pieces topped with Tamarind chili sauce preparation for all this they start in the morning prepairing cutting and and Street Food Delights then they come here at 6:30 and they finish about 10:00 how many guys are working here there's about uh six seven of them six or seven of them all around the table wow this a like big operation okay he's finishing the skewers I guess he's half cooking or saucing he's reheating finishing the skewers that guy just does set up plates for him to top with me then I guess they got the bread and sauce and finishing and to go awesome what are they squirting on the fries there's hot sauce there's ketchup and there's tumy say never go hungry here there's always food in the street if you come here to buy 10 skewers you'd end up actually buying 20 or 30 because somebody's always asking for food right and you always buy it's the culture no one says no to each other for food yeah there we go and you use the stick as your f hot hot hot where do you think the recipe came from this is a real mixed up history here it's mostly Arabic Indian uh components have been in the spices most of the trees like mangoes came from India pineapples came from Brazil Tamarind southeast Asia like not even India you get in [Music] India damn that's good tell you the chicken really awesome might need some more of this [Music] I liking the heat man good stuff [Music] [Music] incredible the 250 M flight from Zanzibar across the water to the town of aroua takes just an hour and a half but culturally you might as well be flying from Texas to the Philippines [Music] kilamanjaro into whose white Peak Hemingway's gangrenous hero saw himself disappear as he slipped into death from there we head into the serengetti [Music] the Journey of this kind one must expect the occasional setback [Music] we reach the Eastern edge of the serengetti where it's a steep climb to the rim of the Magnificent ngorongoro crater once a massive volcano that somewhere around 2.5 million years ago collapsed in on itself creating this Caldera a true Lost World inside the crater an entire ecosystem within an Journey to Ngorongoro Crater ecosystem Wild Life pretty much stay put coming to drink well right below my place it's nice very very nice if you find yourself here a hot bubble bath awaits after a long day in the bush perhaps a dry Cherry from a cut glass decanter the next morning one Rises to breakfast in one's Chambers on the balcony perhaps Silver Service hot coffee freshly baked quason morning thank you sir you're welcome enjo it the rules of the house while slightly restricting are sensible enough and given the luxurious surroundings and the view hardly a burden not supposed to wander around at night here unescorted there's like lions and hyenas and elephants and stuff and while I'm told the baboons can get rapy um and were no knocks on the [Music] door you know I know what you're thinking already you're not going to do what I think you're going to do are you you're not going to go out there and shoot some beautiful animal in the brain no answer no what kind of sick wants to shoot an elephant even the toilet has a nice you this is pretty much what you see as you're sitting on the snakes idyllic natural setting and good Plumbing it's pretty much Paradise [Music] it's nuts driving into the serengetti [Music] after a short while you actually get used to the Jungle Book scene playing out in front of your [Music] car it's interesting see the giraffe and wilderbeast zebra they all seem to hang out with each other no conflict at all pretty much there's no conflict in what Wildlife of the Serengeti they want to eat starts with the elephants Buffalo taking the big stuff out zebras follow down and then the wilderbeast are a really close crop my guide is Colin McConnell a fourth generation African born in Kenya who lives in Tanzania and knows this area like I know the deli counter at Barney Greengrass so this is the edge of the Woodland here it's about every tree you see here that's lying on its side hasn't fallen over out of choice it's been pushed over by [Music] elephants there's an elephant over there guys oh yeah whoa it's a big bull magnificent will he charge us no if we piss him off if we piss him off he would they sleep so soundly these zebra you can creep right up jump up zebras and more zebras so many almost get bored seeing or heard of them giraffes looking only slightly irritated to be interrupted and ever more massive herds stadium-sized crowds of wilderbeast a fish concert of these unkempt looking things every few hundred yards all that's missing is the hacky sack everyone's come to terms now that the world of East migration means world of East jumping into rivers me the fact that that only happens two months of the whole year the rest of the year they're trekking through the bush to me this is so much more spectacular you see these big numbers you'll be in an area this morning that was full of wilderbeast and go there this afternoon and there's not one they've moved thousands and thousands of Wilder beasts on their annual migration are everywhere a big circle stretched out across Tanzania and into Kenya in search of prime grazing it's all about water and grass and a good place to make babies I mean look at this little guy he's keeping up with his mom yeah he's doing okay within 15 minutes of being born they're up and standing right running as fast as their moms within a couple of hours is a wild abuse that didn't make it how old is that you think that a day or two oh really yeah yeah very fresh very fresh you don't want to get lost here you definitely don't want to be on foot outside your car or injured for instance nature as they say is a cruel mistress it takes care of of its own without Mercy the evidence of this cruel math called survival is everywhere non-immediate family are not going to help a brother out no you think H start limping first come the hyenas the hyenas see the vultures dropping right and that's a key to them that there's some food up and the vultures really need the hyenas to rip open the skin just start eating it by the time they finished ripping out your soft Parts treating your femur like a chew toy the vultures and the marabo STS lovingly called The Undertaker Birds been waiting for their turn I don't know about you but whenever Meeting the Maasai I have cause to reflect on a pack of hyenas tunneling into an ass and ripping out the guts I think you know what I could really go for some pesto right now by Lake mosac we pause for lunch indigenous Specialties like pen with pesto steamed baby corn and snow peas grilled Tomatoes sprinkled with Parmesan oh look brownies wa those hippos are coming in close yeah they can smell the pasta they love pasta they coming a Shore yes sa over thankfully cold beers I learn who is really the most dangerous animal around here yeah that's right Mr lovable funny hippo always at a tutu in the cartoons a vicious unpredictable and apparently incredibly fast moving killer you know you happen to leave here and go for a pee behind the tree there and come face to face with this hippo hippo would easily outrun you one big Chomp big tusks go straight through you CHP of you and half just get between them and their mud hole and they'll be all over you like Justin Bieber's bodyguards it can get ugly what do hippo penises look like I idea the hippo never emerges in the water with like a hippo hard on no that I've seen really no they're underwater I don't go snorkling I find that comforting to [Applause] [Music] know they are among the last great warrior tribes on Earth [Music] semi-nomadic they believe that all the world's cattle are a gift of the Gods to them the messai people they move with their animals across the Tanzanian Plains setting up homes where they find the best [Music] [Applause] [Music] grazing their cattle are everything the wealth of the family units of currency givers of milk to live and on special occasions of meat and blood the msai construct their Villages or bulas like this as strategic hamlets designed to repel and discourage Predators you have a lot of livestock coming in here a lot of the other like the migratory games they've all taken off so this area is quite famous for the cats for the big cats the big cats lions roam free here an area of the serengetti called utu it's the Paradox I mean the lions are an enemy to them they are a competitor but they're also something that they greatly [Music] admire Swedish native inela Jansen a field biologist with the serengetti lion project is trying to find a balance between the needs traditions and basic identity of the Messi people and the outside world's desire to protect the beautiful killing machines this is what can happen when a msai warrior defending his cattle takes on a hungry adult lion nobody wants this for the Messi being apprised of the comings and goings of the lion population is a useful thing preferable to find out in advance one would think and take evasive action than the alternative but remember too and respect that the Messi have always defined themselves and their identities by by their enemy a tribe of proud Warriors what happens when there's no one and nothing to fight engela has brought several Messiah onto her team to show them up close the Lions they share this land with away so often on my days out when I'm working with them I say you don't eat at all you get a cup of tea in the morning and then if you're lucky in the rainy season you'll get either fresh milk or or this this is aasi by the way a lumpy yogurt-like drink Central to the msai diet cheers cheers and before you say yuck it might be worth noting that between their nearly 100% protein diet of meat blood and dairy the Messi are known to have near superhuman cardio Olympic levels stamina and condition they can run miles at a time without rest or water and can basically kick your ass at near any physical contest given half the chance so help yourself to some Sour lumpy goodness not bad a little honey some raisins in there good to go it's so different here like the rainy season dry season such different challenges what do you think of going under here is I'm okay with [Music] it currently ingela has been tracking two lions in particular Ramos and puol [Music] oh R is there zy you see them I see yes I do there they are I see them wow two of them yeah you like them don't you oh they're they're magnificent they're very admirable he's a bit of a worrior that one should we try and approach them Coexisting with Lions yeah when you go for lines you don't never drive straight on them right you kind of go at an angle that relaxes them a lot more it's funny how they pretend they don't see you they're so completely [Music] aware so basically what we look at to identify them are the spots it's like their fingerprint punctu W in his face that means he's fighting with females like if they fight with another competitor males it'll be the wounds will be on the back it's too dangerous to go for the head area if they're fighting the reason for the colors to see how Lions um behave to cope with threats in the area to show that lions and Messi can actually Stay Together they've always lived [Music] together for the Messiah one of the diminishing things for them is large range LS um it's the same resource that a lion needs if psh came to show and one part had to go it wouldn't be the wildlife that's bringing in far too much money for this country so if they can show that they're they're actually fundamental um to protect in this area and protecting the Lions well then then it's the better for them as well what's total population of lions do you think Countrywide Ania probably houses 25 to 50% of the total population of lions so it's an important country for it and the last estimate just 30,000 Lions remaining in I think it's not so much the worry of the size but it's the rapid decrease we've lost large predators in the big part of the world the world carries on she would probably have other predators to take their place you know there'd be the hyenas there'd be the cheetah there'd be the leopards of course they couldn't take the big prey like the lion does um if you think about it that way lions are a big show of an ecosystem that is healthy they're important to [Music] that 20 22 hours of the day they [Music] relax spping know when you seen enough sleeping cats and they are beautiful [Music] just a few miles from the crater's rim missio Village about 400 Messi live here oor is the chief he has four wives 12 children a handful of whom are old enough to be outlooking after the herds where are you from Tony I was born in New Jersey and live in New York oh you have a son in New Jersey yeah yes yes they studing one of the um College known as a m State oh sure I don't mind CLA very well oh yeah you're where I grew up oh [Music] yes wow look at that look at that cloud there there's going to be some downpour well do you think it comes here all the D no no no yeah not us it's funny like they always know what the clouds are doing there our weather reports out here the Messi have been migrating with the season since they came to this part of Africa sometime in the 15th century long long before the serenti became a national park and here we run into the kind of existential conflict we'll be seeing more and more of as the world decides what they value most unspoiled expanses of nature populated still with magnificent wild but aggressively protected animals or the indigenous people the aim for our project was promoting coexistence with lions so when I came here to start up Lon guardians but there were many among them aside that were very suspicious they thought this is going to lead to us being kicked out that's a constant fear in this area because in the past the master go to find the L where they are and they kill but today we stop that or we can kill if no way if you have no alternative yeah that's why we have a spear we are not Hunters people but we carry the spear all the time for protection only the Messi they trust that we're not here to kick them out they we're here to work with them and uh we're foreseeing that we're going to be able to start the lion Guardian Project which basically you hire mid to protect the Lions rather than uh kill them with all of the cattle M people have how do you protect them from predators the animals are very smart enough if you do not bother them they do not bother you so how about when they're grazing uhhuh when they grazing we have people who follow how to and that's enough to discourage uh hyenas or Li but sometime they happy lion so they making allow to shows that they are very happy and the way to make that they thing oh do make it happy you know you know but uh if they just like to catch something we can hear very close rolling like that stop but that's a low like that's a happy one that's a happy one no no problem no problem but that purring one that that that the second noise that that's not good mhm that's one is not good that's not a that's not a he Kitty situation oh this one must looking for founding food maybe okay W my cat hates me yeah okay this a lot of you are going to find very disturbing oh I'm guessing uh the Little Goat over there is about to get the bad news come now touch like this I try and be a good guest I eat what my hosts put in front of me I try to take responsibility if something dies for my dinner s here no no no here all this in the hold so when the chief asks if I care to do the honors and tells me how it has to be done I'm not [Music] happy in fact as I close off its air passages I'm struggling to not throw up on [Music] myself yeah t do you know to how to skinny uh can I show you maybe I can show you and then I can go ahead okay the Messi traditionally killed their goats by Suffocation for very good reason it turns out to keep the blood which is a vital component for the Masai diet intact and abundant in the chest cavity they continue now to SL to take the skin out so he can cut here just right through yeah oh good here now FL like this mhm good then continue like Traditional Maasai Meal Preparation [Music] this more Yep a little more good good everything's intact beautiful this a blood so all the blood so it filled up the cavity and started to get uh coagulated yes yes I get it now and it easy now to take the blood out right see wow yeah that's really I've never seen that that's super cool yes someone like to drink fresh [Music] sure a not bad oh it's [Music] good people they eat this one fresh that's a kidney yeah you like a piece yeah a little piece little deed done it's time for a little kidney enjoy the spoils then party sweet actually that's good I like them better like this than cook today smelling good oon yeah that's true they smelling good I'm not too much of a meat eater but this I kind of like the GU even on the serengetti it ain't a barbecue if there ain't some kind of beer normally we are theas we love honey we have a we call Honey beer you drink just very strong so we have here love to try some notic change in the mood [Laughter] [Music] welcome not bad tasty oh it's refreshing as well it's like a palm wine or even like kind P like taste also you can definitely taste them the honey the sweet according to our culture everyone has get the big knife mhm everybody's ready [Music] yeah many aspects of their lifestyle and traditions remain unchanged awesome perfect this does not mean that msai don't have cell phones by the way everybody he does as you say we are talking about how can we balance this because we're not looking to send our children to school getting a good education but uh we still stay in a very strong culture yeah it's really coming like a hard time but uh we continue that's another question you know when your son comes back from New Jersey you know is your son going to want to motorcycle is it going to want a car is it going to want a flat screen TV I don't know for the Future come because as you know the children they're very quickly changing their mind maybe one day coming as a New Jersey Boy I don't know it's beautiful this country this part of Africa geographically huge but not really as the world and what we need to live in it shrinks every [Music] day who gets to live here who or what do we want to see is For Better or Worse going to determine that nearly $1.5 billion do is spent here every year by people who come wanting to look mostly at beautiful animals that is an amount that is hard to argue with with and impossible to outrun