My Dar

I love this city. Dar es Salaam. The largest city in Tanzania. The business hub for Tanzania and East Africa. The Metropolitan See for Archdiocese of Dar es Salaam. The city with the largest expat community in whole Tanzania. The city which welcomed me on January 8, 1991, when I flew in to begin my new life in Tanzania as a missionary. The city which bids me farewell whenever I fly back home for holidays or looking for help to boost our quest to make Divine Mercy vision in Kiabakari happen and become reality. The city of my choice whenever I need to rest and unwind and do some business. My city. My Dar...


This is a city that changed dramatically since 1991 when first I came to see it. Sadly, it is losing fast its Arabic-Swahili-German character morfing into a cosmopolitan megalopolis with around 5 million inhabitants, mostly squeezed into squatter area, but gradually pushed outwards as the city expands and modern buildings, businesses, hotels, shopping centers claim not only the nucleus of the city but areas which were once remnants of villages surrounding Mzizima fishing township...

This city has its unique character. The immediate downtown area stretching from the seafront overlooking the harbour going backwards towards Jangwani valley and Msimbazi creek, is still full of yesteryear aura and ambiance. Narrow streets, whitewashed edifices, verandas / barazas where people sit and chat in the shadow of canopies sheltering from the scorching sun and catching breath in the humidity which makes you think that if squeezed, the air would yield tons of water...This is Dar es Salaam, a haven of peace with a climate that gives newcomers real hard time!

Skyscrapers push their way into this labyrinth of streets, old houses and courtyards gradually. It amazes me always whenever I go for a stroll in the city how suddenly in a matter of a couple of hundreds of meters you may jump from one era to another... from 19th century to the 20th and then to modern time with ultra-sophisticated magnificent constructions! I love this journey in space and time...

One thing I like particularly is a presence of coffee men in the streets, especially in Kariakoo and Mnazi Mmoja area. Whenever I do some shopping, or at times when I was fixing my car, I would ask a shop-owner to call a coffee man, wandering in the streets of Dar, plying its coffee trade, to get a aromatic hot cup of coffee, with no sugar, straight from a portable coffee set consisting of a charcoal stove, copper kettle and a basket of small cup rinsed with some suspicious looking water... It adds to the flavor...If ever you find yourself in those areas of Dar es Salaam, try this coffee in the heat of the sun, it will quench your thirst amazingly!

Or you may try Addis in Dar, Rohobot, Albasha  (especially for dinner - sitting and eating on the sidewalk while people are passing by between tables, others smoking water pipe)...or any other local renowned food outlet, be it Swahili cuisine, Thai, Indian, Chinese or any other regional cuisine ... (not the mainstream of international expensive restaurants in Dar, maybe apart from Zuane Trattoria and Pizzeria, which is the best Italian restaurant in Dar by miles, at present, in my humble opinion).

It is impossible to write about Dar es Salaam in a comprehensive way (not even sharing my own stories connected with this city)...You need to experience it for yourself...Feel it, smell it, sweat it, taste it... You will love it or hate it...but you'll never remain indifferent to the character of this magic city in East Africa...