©
David Debrincat
Tanzania Travel Guide
©
David Debrincat
As for it's own celebrities, not many people talk about Tanzania - it's far away and doesn't get much media coverage. You really need to be a Tanzanian to know who's who. Beyond its frontiers, few people have heard of its artists and only hardened sports fans may be able to name one of its incredible athletes. During a trip to Tanzania, you may well brush past a famous athlete or singer in the streets of Dar or Arusha, without even realizing it!
Whether it's singers, sports people, politicians or even the current President, Jakaya Kikwete, no one has as yet reached the celebrity status of former President Julius Nyerere. Born near to Lake Victoria in 1922, Julius was one of 26 children that his dad fathered! Even though he had to look after his siblings until the age of 12, he still managed to continue his education and become a teacher. His nickname 'Mwalimu' or 'The Teacher' stayed with him througout his life. Thanks to help from the White Fathers, he studied in Scotland and, upon his return, began campaigning for independence and decolonization. The political party he led rapidly grew in popularity and began to dominate the Tanzanian political scene. Elected in 1962 as President of the newly formed republic he stayed in power for 24 years before voluntarily retiring. To quote his own words, after having 'done his best', he finally passed away in 1999, surrounded by his family. To Tanzanians he will always be their 'Teacher'.
A number of Westerners owe their fame to Tanzania, be it as explorers, ethnographers, adventurers or reporters.
You won't meet any contemporaries, but names like David Livingstone ring a bell with most people. A courageous explorer, he discovered the Victoria Falls, Lake Malawi and would have found the source of the Nile, had he not followed the wrong river. He died from an illness on the shores of Lake Tanganyika, after returning from a trip to Zanzibar to begin what would be his last expedition. At the same time Richard Burton and John Hanning Speke joined forces and began to explore this part of the world. And it was they who found Tanzania's magnificent Lake Victoria. Two other adventurers worth a mention are James Grant and Samuel Baker.
Whilst I think about it... The celebrities that you'll meet during avacation in Tanzania ! They won't just be its natural stars, the Serengeti National Park, the Ngorongoro Crater or Kilimanjaro, the Roof of Africa!
