P.BOX 434 Usa River
Arusha, Tanzania
DAR ES SALAAM TOUR
Tours & excursions
+255772446975
info@kikusyasafaris.com
Dar es Salaam (/ˌdɑːr ɛs səˈlɑːm/; from Arabic: دَار السَّلَام, romanized: Dār as-Salām, lit. 'Abode of Peace') is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania. It is also the capital of the Dar es Salaam Region. With a population of over five million people, Dar es Salaam is the largest city in East Africa and the sixth-largest in Africa. Located on the Swahili coast, Dar es Salaam is an important economic center and one of the fastest-growing cities in the world.[2]
The town was founded by Majid bin Said, the first Sultan of Zanzibar, in 1865 or 1866. It was the main administrative and commercial center of German East Africa, Tanganyika, and Tanzania. The decision was made in 1974 to move the capital to Dodoma which was officially completed in 1996.[3]
Tours & excursions
Dar es Salaam (/ˌdɑːr ɛs səˈlɑːm/; from Arabic: دَار السَّلَام, romanized: Dār as-Salām, lit. 'Abode of Peace') is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania. It is also the capital of the Dar es Salaam Region. With a population of over five million people, Dar es Salaam is the largest city in East Africa and the sixth-largest in Africa. Located on the Swahili coast, Dar es Salaam is an important economic center and one of the fastest-growing cities in the world.[2]
Dar es Salaam (/ˌdɑːr ɛs səˈlɑːm/; from Arabic: دَار السَّلَام, romanized: Dār as-Salām, lit. 'Abode of Peace') is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania. It is also the capital of the Dar es Salaam Region. With a population of over five million people, Dar es Salaam is the largest city in East Africa and the sixth-largest in Africa. Located on the Swahili coast, Dar es Salaam is an important economic center and one of the fastest-growing cities in the world.[2]
The town was founded by Majid bin Said, the first Sultan of Zanzibar, in 1865 or 1866. It was the main administrative and commercial center of German East Africa, Tanganyika, and Tanzania. The decision was made in 1974 to move the capital to Dodoma which was officially completed in 1996.[3]
Dar es Salaam is Tanzania's most prominent city for arts, fashion, media, film, television, and finance. It is the capital of the co-extensive Dar es Salaam Region, one of Tanzania's 31 administrative regions, and consists of five districts: Kinondoni in the north; Ilala in the centre; Ubungo and Temeke in the south; and Kigamboni in the east across the Kurasini estuary.
Further information: History of Zanzibar
Image of the port of Dar es Salaam from the book Von Unseren Kolonien by Ottomar Beta in the year 1908
In the 19th century, Mzizima (Swahili for "healthy town") was a coastal fishing village on the periphery of Indian Ocean trade routes.[4][5] In 1865 or 1866, Sultan Majid bin Said of Zanzibar began building a new city very close to Mzizima[5] and named it Dar es Salaam. The name is commonly translated from Arabic as "abode (home) of peace", from dar ("house"), and es salaam ("of peace").[5] Dar es Salaam fell into decline after Majid's death in 1870, but was revived in 1887 when the German East Africa Company established a station there. The town's growth was facilitated by its role as the administrative and commercial centre of German East Africa and industrial expansion following the construction of the Central Railway Line in the early 1900s.[6]
In the East African campaign of World War I, British and Empire forces captured German East Africa. The Royal Navy bombarded the city with the monitor Mersey on 21 July 1916 and battleship HMS Vengeance on 21 August.[7] The German colonial authorities surrendered the city on 3 September.[8] German East Africa became the British Tanganyika Territory.
Dar es Salaam remained the administrative and commercial centre. Under British indirect rule, European areas such as Oyster Bay and African areas (e.g., Kariakoo and Ilala) developed separately from the city centre. The city's population also included a large number of workers from British India, many of whom came to take advantage of trade and commercial opportunities. After World War II, Dar es Salaam experienced a period of rapid growth.[9]
Political developments, including the formation and growth of the Tanganyika African National Union, led to Tanganyika's independence from colonial rule in December 1961. Dar es Salaam continued to serve as its capital, even when Tanganyika and the People's Republic of Zanzibar merged to form Tanzania in 1964. In 1973, provisions were made to relocate the capital to Dodoma, a more centrally located city in the interior. The relocation process to Dodoma was completed, although Dar es Salaam continued to be the location of most government offices.[10]
In 1967, the Tanzanian government declared the ujamaa policy, which made Tanzania lean towards socialism. The move hampered the potential growth of the city as the government encouraged people not to move into cities and instead remain in Ujamaa socialist villages. By the 1980s, the policy failed to combat the increasing poverty and hunger that Tanzania faced, and had delayed necessary development. This situation led to the liberalization policy of the 1980s that essentially ended socialism and silenced its proponents within Tanzania's government through political repression.[11][12]
Dar es Salaam in the 1930s, with the Old Boma and St. Joseph's Cathedral prominently in view
Until the late 1990s, Dar es Salaam was not regarded in the same echelon as Africa's leading cities like Cairo, Nairobi, Johannesburg, Lagos, or Addis Ababa. During the 2000s, businesses opened and prospered; growth expanded in the construction sector, with new multi-storey buildings, bridges and roads;[13] Tanzanian banks headquartered in the city became better regulated[clarification needed]; and the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange expanded. The port is prominent for entrepot trade with landlocked countries like Rwanda, Burundi, Zambia, and the eastern portion of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The city's skyline features tall buildings, among them the 35-storey PSPF Tower (finished in 2015) and the Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) Tower, the tallest in the country (completed in 2016).[14]
A number of historical buildings and elements of urban planning, such as parts of the harbour and streets going back to colonial times, still exist. The Old Boma, one of the city's oldest buildings, was built in 1866-67 by Majid bin Said, sultan of Zanzibar, and enlarged under German rule. The Botanical Gardens now are close to the National Museum of Tansania. The present-day State House goes back to Majid bin Said, and were the seat of the German and later the British colonial governments. Along with the Azania Front Lutheran Church, built between 1899 and 1902,[15] and the Roman Catholic St. Joseph's Cathedral, constructed around the same period,[16] Ocean Road Hospital also belongs to a number of early historical buildings in Dar es Salaam.[17]
Dar es Salaam (/ˌdɑːr ɛs səˈlɑːm/; from Arabic: دَار السَّلَام, romanized: Dār as-Salām, lit. 'Abode of Peace') is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania. It is also the capital of the Dar es Salaam Region. With a population of over five million people, Dar es Salaam is the largest city in East Africa and the sixth-largest in Africa. Located on the Swahili coast, Dar es Salaam is an important economic center and one of the fastest-growing cities in the world.[2]
The town was founded by Majid bin Said, the first Sultan of Zanzibar, in 1865 or 1866. It was the main administrative and commercial center of German East Africa, Tanganyika, and Tanzania. The decision was made in 1974 to move the capital to Dodoma which was officially completed in 1996.[3]
Dar es Salaam is Tanzania's most prominent city for arts, fashion, media, film, television, and finance. It is the capital of the co-extensive Dar es Salaam Region, one of Tanzania's 31 administrative regions, and consists of five districts: Kinondoni in the north; Ilala in the centre; Ubungo and Temeke in the south; and Kigamboni in the east across the Kurasini estuary.
Further information: History of Zanzibar
Image of the port of Dar es Salaam from the book Von Unseren Kolonien by Ottomar Beta in the year 1908
In the 19th century, Mzizima (Swahili for "healthy town") was a coastal fishing village on the periphery of Indian Ocean trade routes.[4][5] In 1865 or 1866, Sultan Majid bin Said of Zanzibar began building a new city very close to Mzizima[5] and named it Dar es Salaam. The name is commonly translated from Arabic as "abode (home) of peace", from dar ("house"), and es salaam ("of peace").[5] Dar es Salaam fell into decline after Majid's death in 1870, but was revived in 1887 when the German East Africa Company established a station there. The town's growth was facilitated by its role as the administrative and commercial centre of German East Africa and industrial expansion following the construction of the Central Railway Line in the early 1900s.[6]
In the East African campaign of World War I, British and Empire forces captured German East Africa. The Royal Navy bombarded the city with the monitor Mersey on 21 July 1916 and battleship HMS Vengeance on 21 August.[7] The German colonial authorities surrendered the city on 3 September.[8] German East Africa became the British Tanganyika Territory.
Dar es Salaam remained the administrative and commercial centre. Under British indirect rule, European areas such as Oyster Bay and African areas (e.g., Kariakoo and Ilala) developed separately from the city centre. The city's population also included a large number of workers from British India, many of whom came to take advantage of trade and commercial opportunities. After World War II, Dar es Salaam experienced a period of rapid growth.[9]
Political developments, including the formation and growth of the Tanganyika African National Union, led to Tanganyika's independence from colonial rule in December 1961. Dar es Salaam continued to serve as its capital, even when Tanganyika and the People's Republic of Zanzibar merged to form Tanzania in 1964. In 1973, provisions were made to relocate the capital to Dodoma, a more centrally located city in the interior. The relocation process to Dodoma was completed, although Dar es Salaam continued to be the location of most government offices.[10]
In 1967, the Tanzanian government declared the ujamaa policy, which made Tanzania lean towards socialism. The move hampered the potential growth of the city as the government encouraged people not to move into cities and instead remain in Ujamaa socialist villages. By the 1980s, the policy failed to combat the increasing poverty and hunger that Tanzania faced, and had delayed necessary development. This situation led to the liberalization policy of the 1980s that essentially ended socialism and silenced its proponents within Tanzania's government through political repression.[11][12]
Dar es Salaam in the 1930s, with the Old Boma and St. Joseph's Cathedral prominently in view
Until the late 1990s, Dar es Salaam was not regarded in the same echelon as Africa's leading cities like Cairo, Nairobi, Johannesburg, Lagos, or Addis Ababa. During the 2000s, businesses opened and prospered; growth expanded in the construction sector, with new multi-storey buildings, bridges and roads;[13] Tanzanian banks headquartered in the city became better regulated[clarification needed]; and the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange expanded. The port is prominent for entrepot trade with landlocked countries like Rwanda, Burundi, Zambia, and the eastern portion of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The city's skyline features tall buildings, among them the 35-storey PSPF Tower (finished in 2015) and the Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) Tower, the tallest in the country (completed in 2016).[14]
A number of historical buildings and elements of urban planning, such as parts of the harbour and streets going back to colonial times, still exist. The Old Boma, one of the city's oldest buildings, was built in 1866-67 by Majid bin Said, sultan of Zanzibar, and enlarged under German rule. The Botanical Gardens now are close to the National Museum of Tansania. The present-day State House goes back to Majid bin Said, and were the seat of the German and later the British colonial governments. Along with the Azania Front Lutheran Church, built between 1899 and 1902,[15] and the Roman Catholic St. Joseph's Cathedral, constructed around the same period,[16] Ocean Road Hospital also belongs to a number of early historical buildings in Dar es Salaam.[17]
Dar es Salaam (/ˌdɑːr ɛs səˈlɑːm/; from Arabic: دَار السَّلَام, romanized: Dār as-Salām, lit. 'Abode of Peace') is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania. It is also the capital of the Dar es Salaam Region. With a population of over five million people, Dar es Salaam is the largest city in East Africa and the sixth-largest in Africa. Located on the Swahili coast, Dar es Salaam is an important economic center and one of the fastest-growing cities in the world.[2]
The town was founded by Majid bin Said, the first Sultan of Zanzibar, in 1865 or 1866. It was the main administrative and commercial center of German East Africa, Tanganyika, and Tanzania. The decision was made in 1974 to move the capital to Dodoma which was officially completed in 1996.[3]
Dar es Salaam is Tanzania's most prominent city for arts, fashion, media, film, television, and finance. It is the capital of the co-extensive Dar es Salaam Region, one of Tanzania's 31 administrative regions, and consists of five districts: Kinondoni in the north; Ilala in the centre; Ubungo and Temeke in the south; and Kigamboni in the east across the Kurasini estuary.
Further information: History of Zanzibar
Image of the port of Dar es Salaam from the book Von Unseren Kolonien by Ottomar Beta in the year 1908
In the 19th century, Mzizima (Swahili for "healthy town") was a coastal fishing village on the periphery of Indian Ocean trade routes.[4][5] In 1865 or 1866, Sultan Majid bin Said of Zanzibar began building a new city very close to Mzizima[5] and named it Dar es Salaam. The name is commonly translated from Arabic as "abode (home) of peace", from dar ("house"), and es salaam ("of peace").[5] Dar es Salaam fell into decline after Majid's death in 1870, but was revived in 1887 when the German East Africa Company established a station there. The town's growth was facilitated by its role as the administrative and commercial centre of German East Africa and industrial expansion following the construction of the Central Railway Line in the early 1900s.[6]
In the East African campaign of World War I, British and Empire forces captured German East Africa. The Royal Navy bombarded the city with the monitor Mersey on 21 July 1916 and battleship HMS Vengeance on 21 August.[7] The German colonial authorities surrendered the city on 3 September.[8] German East Africa became the British Tanganyika Territory.
Dar es Salaam remained the administrative and commercial centre. Under British indirect rule, European areas such as Oyster Bay and African areas (e.g., Kariakoo and Ilala) developed separately from the city centre. The city's population also included a large number of workers from British India, many of whom came to take advantage of trade and commercial opportunities. After World War II, Dar es Salaam experienced a period of rapid growth.[9]
Political developments, including the formation and growth of the Tanganyika African National Union, led to Tanganyika's independence from colonial rule in December 1961. Dar es Salaam continued to serve as its capital, even when Tanganyika and the People's Republic of Zanzibar merged to form Tanzania in 1964. In 1973, provisions were made to relocate the capital to Dodoma, a more centrally located city in the interior. The relocation process to Dodoma was completed, although Dar es Salaam continued to be the location of most government offices.[10]
In 1967, the Tanzanian government declared the ujamaa policy, which made Tanzania lean towards socialism. The move hampered the potential growth of the city as the government encouraged people not to move into cities and instead remain in Ujamaa socialist villages. By the 1980s, the policy failed to combat the increasing poverty and hunger that Tanzania faced, and had delayed necessary development. This situation led to the liberalization policy of the 1980s that essentially ended socialism and silenced its proponents within Tanzania's government through political repression.[11][12]
Dar es Salaam in the 1930s, with the Old Boma and St. Joseph's Cathedral prominently in view
Until the late 1990s, Dar es Salaam was not regarded in the same echelon as Africa's leading cities like Cairo, Nairobi, Johannesburg, Lagos, or Addis Ababa. During the 2000s, businesses opened and prospered; growth expanded in the construction sector, with new multi-storey buildings, bridges and roads;[13] Tanzanian banks headquartered in the city became better regulated[clarification needed]; and the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange expanded. The port is prominent for entrepot trade with landlocked countries like Rwanda, Burundi, Zambia, and the eastern portion of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The city's skyline features tall buildings, among them the 35-storey PSPF Tower (finished in 2015) and the Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) Tower, the tallest in the country (completed in 2016).[14]
A number of historical buildings and elements of urban planning, such as parts of the harbour and streets going back to colonial times, still exist. The Old Boma, one of the city's oldest buildings, was built in 1866-67 by Majid bin Said, sultan of Zanzibar, and enlarged under German rule. The Botanical Gardens now are close to the National Museum of Tansania. The present-day State House goes back to Majid bin Said, and were the seat of the German and later the British colonial governments. Along with the Azania Front Lutheran Church, built between 1899 and 1902,[15] and the Roman Catholic St. Joseph's Cathedral, constructed around the same period,[16] Ocean Road Hospital also belongs to a number of early historical buildings in Dar es Salaam.[17]
Dar es Salaam (/ˌdɑːr ɛs səˈlɑːm/; from Arabic: دَار السَّلَام, romanized: Dār as-Salām, lit. 'Abode of Peace') is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania. It is also the capital of the Dar es Salaam Region. With a population of over five million people, Dar es Salaam is the largest city in East Africa and the sixth-largest in Africa. Located on the Swahili coast, Dar es Salaam is an important economic center and one of the fastest-growing cities in the world.[2]
The town was founded by Majid bin Said, the first Sultan of Zanzibar, in 1865 or 1866. It was the main administrative and commercial center of German East Africa, Tanganyika, and Tanzania. The decision was made in 1974 to move the capital to Dodoma which was officially completed in 1996.[3]
Dar es Salaam is Tanzania's most prominent city for arts, fashion, media, film, television, and finance. It is the capital of the co-extensive Dar es Salaam Region, one of Tanzania's 31 administrative regions, and consists of five districts: Kinondoni in the north; Ilala in the centre; Ubungo and Temeke in the south; and Kigamboni in the east across the Kurasini estuary.
Further information: History of Zanzibar
Image of the port of Dar es Salaam from the book Von Unseren Kolonien by Ottomar Beta in the year 1908
In the 19th century, Mzizima (Swahili for "healthy town") was a coastal fishing village on the periphery of Indian Ocean trade routes.[4][5] In 1865 or 1866, Sultan Majid bin Said of Zanzibar began building a new city very close to Mzizima[5] and named it Dar es Salaam. The name is commonly translated from Arabic as "abode (home) of peace", from dar ("house"), and es salaam ("of peace").[5] Dar es Salaam fell into decline after Majid's death in 1870, but was revived in 1887 when the German East Africa Company established a station there. The town's growth was facilitated by its role as the administrative and commercial centre of German East Africa and industrial expansion following the construction of the Central Railway Line in the early 1900s.[6]
In the East African campaign of World War I, British and Empire forces captured German East Africa. The Royal Navy bombarded the city with the monitor Mersey on 21 July 1916 and battleship HMS Vengeance on 21 August.[7] The German colonial authorities surrendered the city on 3 September.[8] German East Africa became the British Tanganyika Territory.
Dar es Salaam remained the administrative and commercial centre. Under British indirect rule, European areas such as Oyster Bay and African areas (e.g., Kariakoo and Ilala) developed separately from the city centre. The city's population also included a large number of workers from British India, many of whom came to take advantage of trade and commercial opportunities. After World War II, Dar es Salaam experienced a period of rapid growth.[9]
Political developments, including the formation and growth of the Tanganyika African National Union, led to Tanganyika's independence from colonial rule in December 1961. Dar es Salaam continued to serve as its capital, even when Tanganyika and the People's Republic of Zanzibar merged to form Tanzania in 1964. In 1973, provisions were made to relocate the capital to Dodoma, a more centrally located city in the interior. The relocation process to Dodoma was completed, although Dar es Salaam continued to be the location of most government offices.[10]
In 1967, the Tanzanian government declared the ujamaa policy, which made Tanzania lean towards socialism. The move hampered the potential growth of the city as the government encouraged people not to move into cities and instead remain in Ujamaa socialist villages. By the 1980s, the policy failed to combat the increasing poverty and hunger that Tanzania faced, and had delayed necessary development. This situation led to the liberalization policy of the 1980s that essentially ended socialism and silenced its proponents within Tanzania's government through political repression.[11][12]
Dar es Salaam in the 1930s, with the Old Boma and St. Joseph's Cathedral prominently in view
Until the late 1990s, Dar es Salaam was not regarded in the same echelon as Africa's leading cities like Cairo, Nairobi, Johannesburg, Lagos, or Addis Ababa. During the 2000s, businesses opened and prospered; growth expanded in the construction sector, with new multi-storey buildings, bridges and roads;[13] Tanzanian banks headquartered in the city became better regulated[clarification needed]; and the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange expanded. The port is prominent for entrepot trade with landlocked countries like Rwanda, Burundi, Zambia, and the eastern portion of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The city's skyline features tall buildings, among them the 35-storey PSPF Tower (finished in 2015) and the Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) Tower, the tallest in the country (completed in 2016).[14]
A number of historical buildings and elements of urban planning, such as parts of the harbour and streets going back to colonial times, still exist. The Old Boma, one of the city's oldest buildings, was built in 1866-67 by Majid bin Said, sultan of Zanzibar, and enlarged under German rule. The Botanical Gardens now are close to the National Museum of Tansania. The present-day State House goes back to Majid bin Said, and were the seat of the German and later the British colonial governments. Along with the Azania Front Lutheran Church, built between 1899 and 1902,[15] and the Roman Catholic St. Joseph's Cathedral, constructed around the same period,[16] Ocean Road Hospital also belongs to a number of early historical buildings in Dar es Salaam.[17]
Dar es Salaam (/ˌdɑːr ɛs səˈlɑːm/; from Arabic: دَار السَّلَام, romanized: Dār as-Salām, lit. 'Abode of Peace') is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania. It is also the capital of the Dar es Salaam Region. With a population of over five million people, Dar es Salaam is the largest city in East Africa and the sixth-largest in Africa. Located on the Swahili coast, Dar es Salaam is an important economic center and one of the fastest-growing cities in the world.[2]
The town was founded by Majid bin Said, the first Sultan of Zanzibar, in 1865 or 1866. It was the main administrative and commercial center of German East Africa, Tanganyika, and Tanzania. The decision was made in 1974 to move the capital to Dodoma which was officially completed in 1996.[3]
Dar es Salaam is Tanzania's most prominent city for arts, fashion, media, film, television, and finance. It is the capital of the co-extensive Dar es Salaam Region, one of Tanzania's 31 administrative regions, and consists of five districts: Kinondoni in the north; Ilala in the centre; Ubungo and Temeke in the south; and Kigamboni in the east across the Kurasini estuary.
Further information: History of Zanzibar
Image of the port of Dar es Salaam from the book Von Unseren Kolonien by Ottomar Beta in the year 1908
In the 19th century, Mzizima (Swahili for "healthy town") was a coastal fishing village on the periphery of Indian Ocean trade routes.[4][5] In 1865 or 1866, Sultan Majid bin Said of Zanzibar began building a new city very close to Mzizima[5] and named it Dar es Salaam. The name is commonly translated from Arabic as "abode (home) of peace", from dar ("house"), and es salaam ("of peace").[5] Dar es Salaam fell into decline after Majid's death in 1870, but was revived in 1887 when the German East Africa Company established a station there. The town's growth was facilitated by its role as the administrative and commercial centre of German East Africa and industrial expansion following the construction of the Central Railway Line in the early 1900s.[6]
In the East African campaign of World War I, British and Empire forces captured German East Africa. The Royal Navy bombarded the city with the monitor Mersey on 21 July 1916 and battleship HMS Vengeance on 21 August.[7] The German colonial authorities surrendered the city on 3 September.[8] German East Africa became the British Tanganyika Territory.
Dar es Salaam remained the administrative and commercial centre. Under British indirect rule, European areas such as Oyster Bay and African areas (e.g., Kariakoo and Ilala) developed separately from the city centre. The city's population also included a large number of workers from British India, many of whom came to take advantage of trade and commercial opportunities. After World War II, Dar es Salaam experienced a period of rapid growth.[9]
Political developments, including the formation and growth of the Tanganyika African National Union, led to Tanganyika's independence from colonial rule in December 1961. Dar es Salaam continued to serve as its capital, even when Tanganyika and the People's Republic of Zanzibar merged to form Tanzania in 1964. In 1973, provisions were made to relocate the capital to Dodoma, a more centrally located city in the interior. The relocation process to Dodoma was completed, although Dar es Salaam continued to be the location of most government offices.[10]
In 1967, the Tanzanian government declared the ujamaa policy, which made Tanzania lean towards socialism. The move hampered the potential growth of the city as the government encouraged people not to move into cities and instead remain in Ujamaa socialist villages. By the 1980s, the policy failed to combat the increasing poverty and hunger that Tanzania faced, and had delayed necessary development. This situation led to the liberalization policy of the 1980s that essentially ended socialism and silenced its proponents within Tanzania's government through political repression.[11][12]
Dar es Salaam in the 1930s, with the Old Boma and St. Joseph's Cathedral prominently in view
Until the late 1990s, Dar es Salaam was not regarded in the same echelon as Africa's leading cities like Cairo, Nairobi, Johannesburg, Lagos, or Addis Ababa. During the 2000s, businesses opened and prospered; growth expanded in the construction sector, with new multi-storey buildings, bridges and roads;[13] Tanzanian banks headquartered in the city became better regulated[clarification needed]; and the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange expanded. The port is prominent for entrepot trade with landlocked countries like Rwanda, Burundi, Zambia, and the eastern portion of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The city's skyline features tall buildings, among them the 35-storey PSPF Tower (finished in 2015) and the Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) Tower, the tallest in the country (completed in 2016).[14]
A number of historical buildings and elements of urban planning, such as parts of the harbour and streets going back to colonial times, still exist. The Old Boma, one of the city's oldest buildings, was built in 1866-67 by Majid bin Said, sultan of Zanzibar, and enlarged under German rule. The Botanical Gardens now are close to the National Museum of Tansania. The present-day State House goes back to Majid bin Said, and were the seat of the German and later the British colonial governments. Along with the Azania Front Lutheran Church, built between 1899 and 1902,[15] and the Roman Catholic St. Joseph's Cathedral, constructed around the same period,[16] Ocean Road Hospital also belongs to a number of early historical buildings in Dar es Salaam.[17]
Dar es Salaam (/ˌdɑːr ɛs səˈlɑːm/; from Arabic: دَار السَّلَام, romanized: Dār as-Salām, lit. 'Abode of Peace') is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania. It is also the capital of the Dar es Salaam Region. With a population of over five million people, Dar es Salaam is the largest city in East Africa and the sixth-largest in Africa. Located on the Swahili coast, Dar es Salaam is an important economic center and one of the fastest-growing cities in the world.[2]
The town was founded by Majid bin Said, the first Sultan of Zanzibar, in 1865 or 1866. It was the main administrative and commercial center of German East Africa, Tanganyika, and Tanzania. The decision was made in 1974 to move the capital to Dodoma which was officially completed in 1996.[3]
Dar es Salaam is Tanzania's most prominent city for arts, fashion, media, film, television, and finance. It is the capital of the co-extensive Dar es Salaam Region, one of Tanzania's 31 administrative regions, and consists of five districts: Kinondoni in the north; Ilala in the centre; Ubungo and Temeke in the south; and Kigamboni in the east across the Kurasini estuary.
Further information: History of Zanzibar
Image of the port of Dar es Salaam from the book Von Unseren Kolonien by Ottomar Beta in the year 1908
In the 19th century, Mzizima (Swahili for "healthy town") was a coastal fishing village on the periphery of Indian Ocean trade routes.[4][5] In 1865 or 1866, Sultan Majid bin Said of Zanzibar began building a new city very close to Mzizima[5] and named it Dar es Salaam. The name is commonly translated from Arabic as "abode (home) of peace", from dar ("house"), and es salaam ("of peace").[5] Dar es Salaam fell into decline after Majid's death in 1870, but was revived in 1887 when the German East Africa Company established a station there. The town's growth was facilitated by its role as the administrative and commercial centre of German East Africa and industrial expansion following the construction of the Central Railway Line in the early 1900s.[6]
In the East African campaign of World War I, British and Empire forces captured German East Africa. The Royal Navy bombarded the city with the monitor Mersey on 21 July 1916 and battleship HMS Vengeance on 21 August.[7] The German colonial authorities surrendered the city on 3 September.[8] German East Africa became the British Tanganyika Territory.
Dar es Salaam remained the administrative and commercial centre. Under British indirect rule, European areas such as Oyster Bay and African areas (e.g., Kariakoo and Ilala) developed separately from the city centre. The city's population also included a large number of workers from British India, many of whom came to take advantage of trade and commercial opportunities. After World War II, Dar es Salaam experienced a period of rapid growth.[9]
Political developments, including the formation and growth of the Tanganyika African National Union, led to Tanganyika's independence from colonial rule in December 1961. Dar es Salaam continued to serve as its capital, even when Tanganyika and the People's Republic of Zanzibar merged to form Tanzania in 1964. In 1973, provisions were made to relocate the capital to Dodoma, a more centrally located city in the interior. The relocation process to Dodoma was completed, although Dar es Salaam continued to be the location of most government offices.[10]
In 1967, the Tanzanian government declared the ujamaa policy, which made Tanzania lean towards socialism. The move hampered the potential growth of the city as the government encouraged people not to move into cities and instead remain in Ujamaa socialist villages. By the 1980s, the policy failed to combat the increasing poverty and hunger that Tanzania faced, and had delayed necessary development. This situation led to the liberalization policy of the 1980s that essentially ended socialism and silenced its proponents within Tanzania's government through political repression.[11][12]
Dar es Salaam in the 1930s, with the Old Boma and St. Joseph's Cathedral prominently in view
Until the late 1990s, Dar es Salaam was not regarded in the same echelon as Africa's leading cities like Cairo, Nairobi, Johannesburg, Lagos, or Addis Ababa. During the 2000s, businesses opened and prospered; growth expanded in the construction sector, with new multi-storey buildings, bridges and roads;[13] Tanzanian banks headquartered in the city became better regulated[clarification needed]; and the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange expanded. The port is prominent for entrepot trade with landlocked countries like Rwanda, Burundi, Zambia, and the eastern portion of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The city's skyline features tall buildings, among them the 35-storey PSPF Tower (finished in 2015) and the Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) Tower, the tallest in the country (completed in 2016).[14]
A number of historical buildings and elements of urban planning, such as parts of the harbour and streets going back to colonial times, still exist. The Old Boma, one of the city's oldest buildings, was built in 1866-67 by Majid bin Said, sultan of Zanzibar, and enlarged under German rule. The Botanical Gardens now are close to the National Museum of Tansania. The present-day State House goes back to Majid bin Said, and were the seat of the German and later the British colonial governments. Along with the Azania Front Lutheran Church, built between 1899 and 1902,[15] and the Roman Catholic St. Joseph's Cathedral, constructed around the same period,[16] Ocean Road Hospital also belongs to a number of early historical buildings in Dar es Salaam.[17]