Dar es Salaam is not the capital — that is Dodoma, formally since 1996 — but it is where almost everything happens. Around seven million people live in the metropolitan area, making it one of the fastest growing cities in the world. The name is Arabic for the abode of peace.
In the city
The National Museum holds the Olduvai and Laetoli material, including casts of the hominin finds, alongside a good colonial and independence collection. The Village Museum on the northern edge reconstructs traditional dwellings from around the country with craft demonstrations. Kariakoo market is the commercial heart and one of the largest markets in East Africa; go in the morning and keep your bag in front of you. The waterfront around the fish market at Ferry is chaotic and worth an hour.
Beaches and islands
The ferry to Kigamboni takes five minutes and reaches the southern beaches, which are where the city goes at weekends. North of the centre, the Msasani peninsula has the expatriate restaurants and the departure point for Bongoyo Island, a marine reserve twenty minutes offshore with snorkelling and grilled fish on the sand.
Bagamoyo
Seventy kilometres north, Bagamoyo was the terminus of the caravan routes from the interior and the main port for the ivory and slave trades in the nineteenth century, then the first capital of German East Africa. The name is commonly translated as lay down your heart. The old town has crumbling Arab and German buildings, the Catholic mission from 1868 with a museum, and the ruins of the thirteenth-century Kaole settlement nearby.
Kilwa Kisiwani
Three hundred kilometres south, an island that was one of the most powerful Swahili city states from the eleventh to the sixteenth century, controlling the gold trade from Zimbabwe. Ibn Battuta visited in 1331 and called it among the finest cities he had seen. The Great Mosque and the Husuni Kubwa palace are UNESCO listed and receive almost no visitors. Access is by dhow from Kilwa Masoko with a permit.
Practicalities
Traffic is severe; the bus rapid transit line on Morogoro Road is the fastest way across town. Ride-hailing apps work well. The city is hot and humid year round with the heaviest rain in April and May. Malaria risk is present, and the coast is where it is highest.