Dar es Salaam

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Categories: Cities in Tanzania | Coastal cities | Capitals in Africa | Port cities

This article is about the city, for the region see Dar es Salaam (region).

Dar es Salaam

City flag City seal
City nickname: Dar</br>
Image:Tanzania DaresSalaam.png Location of Dar es Salaam
Mayor	Kleist Sykes
Area   –Land   –Water	[[]] N/A km² N/A km²
Population   –Total (2005)   –Density	Metropolitan area 2,500,000 (2003)
Latitude Longitude
Official website: []

Dar es Salaam (دار السلام), formerly Mzizima, is the largest city (population 2,500,000 estimated 2003), economic centre and former capital of Tanzania. The city serves as the capital for the surrounding Dar es Salaam Region. Located on a harbour on the Indian Ocean, it is the main port for Tanzania, handling exports of coffee, cotton, sisal and hides. Local industries include food products, textiles, cement, and pharmaceuticals. Dar es Salaam is located at 6°48' South, 39°17' East (-6.8, 39.28333). [1]

The economically important Tazara railway runs from Dar es Salaam to Lusaka, Zambia.

Administratively, Dar es Salaam is broken into 3 districts: Ilala, Kinondoni, and Temeke.

History

In 1859, Albert Roscher of Hamburg became the first European to land in Mzizima ("healthy town"). In 1866 Sultan Seyyid Majid of Zanzibar gave it its present name, an Arabic phrase meaning Haven of Peace. 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 resulting from the construction of the Central Railway Line in the early 1900s.

German East Africa was captured by the British during World War I and from then on referred to as Tanganyika. Dar es Salaam was retained as the territory's administrative and commercial centre. Under British indirect rule, separate European (e.g. Oyster Bay) and African (e.g. Kariakoo and Ilala) areas developed at a distance from the city center. The town's population also included a large amount of South Asians.

After World War II, Dar es Salaam experienced a period of rapid growth. Political developments, including the formation and growth of the Tanganyika African National Union (TANU), led to Tanganyika attaining independence from colonial rule in December 1961. Dar es Salaam continued to serve as its capital, also when in 1964 Tanganyika and Zanzibar merged to form Tanzania. However, in 1973 provisions were made to relocate the capital to Dodoma, a more centrally located city in Tanzania's interior. The relocation process has not yet been completed, and Dar es Salaam remains as Tanzania's primary city.

One of the deadly 1998 U.S. embassy bombings occurred in Dar es Salaam; the other was in Nairobi, Kenya.

Culture

Downtown Dar es Salaam has a very Arabic and Indian flavor to it, with many small business proprieters being of those origins. Many of the buildings and general layout of the downtown area have a frenetic, claustrophic feeling that lends itself to street vendors and restauranteers doing a good business. The night life of Dar es Salaam includes several night clubs and casinos, and a few of the nicer bars and restaurants have local acts that perform.

Some of the local restaurants specialize in traditional Indian or Zanzibari cuisine, while other many establishments, such as the New Protein Bar, serve a traditional Tanzanian snack called "Nyama Choma" (roasted meat) with salt and various hot peppers.

There are a few museums such as the National Museum, the Village Museum, or the Botanical Gardens that one can visit, and within an hour's drive North is Bagamoyo, home to the Kaole ruins. There are beaches on the Kigamboni peninsula East of Dar es Salaam and on Kigamboni Island to the North that residents and tourists frequently visit. The National Stadium hosts periodical football matches between rival Tanzanian clubs and Dar es Salaam's Simba club, as well as international matches.

The first cineplex in Tanzania to show first-run Western and Indian releases was opened in Dar es Salaam in December of 2003.

Trivia

The building that houses The National Audit Office of Tanzania used to be a car salesroom before it was nationalised by the state shortly after independence.ca:Dar es Salaam da:Dar es-Salaam de:Daressalam es:Dar es Salaam fr:Dar es Salaam it:Dar es Salaam lt:Dar es Salamas nl:Dar es Salaam ja:ダルエスサラーム pl:Dar es-Salam pt:Dar es Salaam fi:Dar es Salaam sv:Dar es-Salaam