Darajani & Forodhani Markets, Stonetown, Zanzibar – a guide

Darajani & Forodhani Markets, Stonetown, Zanzibar – a guide

Views from Serena hotel, Stonetown, Zanzibar

Zanzibar is a fascinating romantic island, with an exotic blend of Indian, Arabic and European architecture and influence and a mixture of crumbling buildings and palaces, sadly juxtaposed.

Darajani Market

The Darajani Market in Stonetown, also known as Estella Market (after Countess Estella, sister of Lloyd Mathews, a former Prime Minister of Zanzibar) is a traditional food market in the truest sense of the word. It isn’t too different from the market that first opened in 1904.

Clockwise (L-R) With young spice trader;dried octopus, a common sight;vegetables, vermillion at spice estate outside Stonetown

Zanzibaris buy and sell vegetables, meat, seafood, spices and fabric in separate sections under a gable roofed structure that often spills out onto side streets. Darajani Market is a perfect spot to watch life in Zanzibar unfold, as it has for so many years. It is bustling with life, mainly local. During the 16th century Zanzibar was placed in a unique vantage point on the Spice route by the Persians, and it became  famous for, amongst other spices, cloves.

Buy fruit and spices inexpensively here. Haggling is recommended, if not mandatory at this market.
Where: Darajani Road near the Anglican Cathedral courtyard, once home to the Great Slave Market that closed in 1873.
When: between 9 and 11 am.

Forodhani Night Food Market

Clockwise (L-R): Chefs at the market; on a dhow; endless seafood on the grills; slippers on sand in evening

A visit to Stonetown is not complete without a stop at the Forodhani Night Food Market at the waterfront location of Forodhani Gardens. Arrive before dusk, and watch the space fill up methodically with chefs dressed in whites and tall hats setting up stands and grills. Row after row of grills with fish, squid, prawn, lobster, crab claw and seafood kebabs fill the square, the air wafting with hunger-inducing smells. Freshly pressed juices, like sugar cane juice and cassava, fried potatoes, chapatis, salads, beef skewers, falafel and Zanzibar ‘pizzas’ are further temptations.

Forodhani Market is frequented predominately by locals who stream out in droves, placing orders and waiting in the low light of the gas lamps, flaming grills and woks. Families sitting on picnic blankets in the garden, enjoying dinner feasts is a common sight here.
Tourists are unmistakable, often in shorts (men; women are encouraged to cover up), sporting dreadlocks, backpacks, sturdy sandals and an air of hesitation.

What should you eat?

There are two schools of thoughts here at Forodhani – one says the food isn’t prepared freshly, merely re-heated and potentially dangerous, the other says it’s the tastiest and most inexpensive street food you will ever enjoy.
We were cautious with the pre-prepped seafood and ordered freshly made vegetable and sweet banana ‘pizzas’ watching the chefs with earnest expressions flip the dough in the muted glow of the grill and cook up our pizzas. This is a very popular choice, so prepare to wait in a queue.

Forodhani has a festive, carnival-like atmosphere, so go to enjoy yourself.

When: every night of the week.
Where: Forodhani Gardens, Mizingani Street, Stonetown.

pole pole in the words of the locals, swahili for “take it easy”