Sail away: Fisherman, working in traditional dhows, can be seen off the coast of ZanzibarSheltering from the heat in the Roman Catholic cathedral, I came across a two-part choir, animated by a couple of highly energetic conductors, practising the Hallelujah chorus in Swahili.
It was the last thing I expected on the largely Muslim island of Zanzibar, but as I was told again and again on my all too brief visit, all manner of religions, including Buddhism and Hinduism, live peacefully here and often inter-marry.
I was exploring the capital, Stone Town, which, though 6,000 miles away from these shores, has played a colourful part in British history.
The great explorer Dr David Livingstone planned his last expedition to find the source of the Nile from a Stone Town house that still survives, and his mummified body was brought back to Zanzibar to be repatriated to England.
In the scarcely changed streets of modern Zanzibar, you can still sense the romance of this period when the exotic Sultans of Oman ceded power to the British, who banished the slave trade that had made them rich.
The grand palaces - once home to countless concubines - are now museums, the Anglican cathedral conceals the spot where their slaves were held in cramped underground chambers and the huge spreading tree, where the captives were auctioned, stands in the middle of a bustling market so vital you could spend many days getting lost in its depths.
Having set out immediately after breakfast, I was still trying to find my way through its little alleys at the height of midday.
I wilted under the tropical sun despite my very British Panama hat, while all around Stone Town, girls were apparently as cool as could be under their colourful cotton kangas (headscarves).
The locals weave a Swahili motto into the border, which include such words of wisdom as, 'He who relies on his relatives' property, dies poor', or my absolute favourite, 'Don't set sail using somebody else's star'.
The heat is so blistering in town that it is a blessed relief when you are deluged by the tropical rains that suddenly come out of nowhere and just as soon pass.
I took cover in the island's famous carved wooden doorways or ducked into the little shops and waited ten minutes until the sun was ready to shine again.
And that first day I flopped down in the Mercury Bar on the waterfront and consumed about a litre of freshly squeezed papaya juice while gazing at the Chinese junk-looking fishing boats. The bar is named in honour of Freddie Mercury, the lead singer of the pop group Queen, who was born on the island.
In Zanzibar, you lurch from history to the present day and back again, and come across the most unlikely references that make you feel you're in an exotic place one minute, at home the next.
And yet the pace of life has hardly changed in 100 years, which makes it a perfect destination for a relaxing holiday.
Broad appeal: Zanzibar has wonderful beaches and local culture galoreMy setting off point was the perfectly located Serena Inn. Its swimming pool overlooks the Indian Ocean, dotted with ferries plying their way from the mainland, while its main front door opens onto a green square planted with huge flame trees, that in turn leads through narrow streets to Stone Town's most exotic shopping area.
No matter where you stay in town, you will want to come to the Serena to watch the sun going down on the terrace next to the swimming pool where, as often as not, there is a concert featuring the local Taarab musicians - a tuneful mixture of jazz, Indian and Arab rhythms, which tell you all you need to know about the island's multicultural history.
One evening I climbed the many steps of the bizarre 236 Hurumzi tower to eat hummus and curry - in Zanzibar the food is as eclectic as the music - entertained by African dancers in white face doing a very suggestive routine. The next I took a dhow out towards the setting sun while one of the Taarab musicians serenaded me with playful love songs on a violin.
Most people come to Zanzibar at the end of a safari and, after all those early mornings getting up with the animals, are only too glad to flop down in plush accommodation for a few days before boarding the long flight home.
I went to the East Coast to collapse on the proverbial palm-fringed beach, complete with white sand, clear waters and a coral reef that you can walk to at low tide.
Here a Swedish-Croatian couple, who met in the holiday business in Africa as young people, have opened a trio of memorable hotels. My first stop was Breezes which, with its individual houses ringed round a communal dining room, bars and watersports centre, is perfect accommodation for all the family.
Next door the same owners have built a six-room honeymoon hotel, the Palms, for the very rich and private, and next door to that is surely the most irresistible accommodation ever to grace a desert island.
My individual villa at the Baraza - the name means the stone bench peculiar to Zanzibar where everyone lounges and gossips - was the size of the average London family flat.
A vast four-poster bed screened by a mosquito net looked on to a marble floored sitting room with writing table, walk-in bar, day-bed in its own curtained annexe and even a television hidden away in a cabinet. I never turned it on once, which only goes to show how good a time I had, because normally I have to know what the latest headlines are.
It's easy to while the time away in Zanzibar. One of the nicest things to do on the island's seemingly endless stretches of sand is hire a bicycle.
With the wind at your back you can ride for miles, though beware just how far you go, because it is quite a slog to pedal into the wind on the return journey.
For the very athletic, there is kite-surfing on the lagoon or diving by the reef. I made excursions into the rainforest to see the protected four-fingered red Colobus monkeys, who lounge just above you, splayed out on the branches, languidly picking fresh almonds for their lunch
I took a boat to the local village through beautiful mangrove swamps where the water is as clear as a mirror and set off as far as I dared along the seashore without risking being cut off by the tide. On my return, imagine my surprise to find that a palm-fronded canopy had been erected right by the waves and beneath it a table laden with fresh fish, South African white wine, starched tablecloth and proper silverware. I felt like Queen Victoria.
When I arrived back in steamy Stone Town on my way home, it was as if I had only scratched the surface of Zanzibar. Once more the little capital, its narrow streets smelling surprisingly sweet from spices brought in from the many plantations, did not disappoint.
But the best thing about it was the always unpredictable quality of tropical life, which everyone takes with great humour. When I was there, the whole island had been cut off from mainland electricity for a couple of months and everyone relied on their personal generator.
Wonderful wildlife: Glenys spotted Colobus monkeys on her foray into the rainforestFinally, the mains supply was reconnected, yet from time to time it still cut out. There was even a power cut while I was trying to check in at the airport on the way home in 40-degree heat.
The most remarkable feature was how happy everyone was - businessmen, holidaymakers, locals - in the face of what would have been considered unacceptable adversity back home in Heathrow's Terminal 5.
Even sitting around the departure lounge for five hours, when my plane to Nairobi was postponed, seemed entirely without stress.
The only downside was that it would now be dark before I would be flying into the Kenyan capital to get the plane to London, and so I would miss the spectacular sight which had greeted me on the trip out.
'If you look out of your righthand window now,' the captain had said, 'You will see Mount Kilimanjaro.'
No kidding. The gigantic snow-covered crater was so close that if the plane's windows had been open, you could have stretched out your arm and scooped up a snowball.
Travel Facts
Kuoni (01306 747008, www.kuoni.co.uk) offers seven nights in Zanzibar, staying two nights B&B at the Serena Inn, two nights half-board at Breezes Beach Club & Spa and three nights on all-inclusive at Baraza Resort & Spa, including flights with Kenya Airways and airport transfers in resort. Prices for November 2010 from £2,064 per person, based on two sharing.
Also, visit www.zanzibartourism.net.
source : dailymail
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