Show IMPRESSIONS OF ct ZANZIBAR Richard Harding Davis Describes an East African City Scribners Magazine MagazineS In writing of Zanzibar I am embar embarrassed embarrassed embarrassed by bv the knowledge knowlt dge that I am amnot amnot amnot not an unprejudiced witness I fell In Inlove inlove love with Zanzibar at first sight and the more I saw of it the more I want wanted wanted wanted ed to take my luggage out of the ships hold and cable to my friends to try and have me made vice consul to Zan Zanzibar Zanzibar Zanzibar through all aU succeeding adminis administrations administrations administrations Zanzibar runs back ba k abruptly from a white beach in a succession of high white walls It glistens and glares and dazzles you the sand at your our feet Is white the city itself is white the he robes of the people are white It has no public landing pier Your rowboat is run ashore on a White hite shelving beach and you face an impenetrable mass of white walls The blue waters are behind you the lofty fortress facade before you and a strip of white whitesand whitesand whitesand sand is at your our feet And while you are wondering where this hidden city cit may be a kind friend takes you by the hand and pilots you through a narrow narrow crack in the ram rampart rampart part vart along a twisting fissure between whitewashed walls Avails where the sun can cannot cannot not reach past great black doorways of carved oak and out suddenly into the light and laughter and roar of Zanzibar In the narrow streets are all the colors of the Orient gorgeous un shaded and violent cobalt blue greens and reds on framework windows windows win windows dows and doorways red and yellow in inthe inthe inthe the awnings and ami curtains of the ba bazars baZars bazars and oran rand and black red and white yellow dark blue and purple in the long shawls of the women It H His Itis Itis is the busiest and the brightest and richest in color of all the ports along the East African coast Were rere it not for tor its narrow streets and its tower towering towerIng towering ing walls It would be a place of per perpetual perpetual perpetual sunshine Everybody is either actively busy bus or contentedly idle It ItIs Itis Itis Is all movement noise and glitter ev cv everyone everyone Is telling everyone else to make way before re him the Indian merchants beseech you the open bazars their children swathed in gorgeous silks and hung with jewels and ban bangles bangles les stumble under unger your our feet the sul sultans sultans sultans tans troops assail you with fife anc and drum and the black women wrapped below helow their bare shoulders in the col colors colors colors ors of the butterfly and with teeth ant and brows dyed purple p crowd cro d you to the wall |