Bagamoyo

Bagamoyo mosque. Photo courtesy: Adam Jones PhD — Wikimedia Commons

Not far north of Dar es Salaam rested sleepy Bagamoyo, once the capital when the Germans invaded Tanganyika. The town was located where ocean breezes swept over faded buildings.

Bagamoyo ruins. Photo courtesy: Chen Hualin — Wikimedia Commons

I day tripped to the coastal haven several times during my Dar days, inspired by the ruins scattered among coconut palms, the silent streets and colonial buildings. Bagamoya was a thriving town during the slave trade era but when I visited, I was taken in by its relaxing atmosphere, rather than its dark past.