Home-Cooked Lunch in Zanzibar

Thursday, September 8, 2005

Lunch today was cooked for us at the home of our guide Hamid. In an small open dining-room off a sunny courtyard, Hamid's wife served rice and vegetables made with local spices and a main dish of cloved beef.

The walls were covered in whitewash from inside and out with a red aluminum roof. From outside Hamid's house, you could see no window but as soon as you crossed his doorstep (removing your shoes first), you realized it really need no windows as it was so open to the elements already. An electric fan cooled the eating area but today's sun was hot on our bare feet on the courtyard's cement floor, and the white walls were dazzling in the sunshine.

Off the main dining room, there was a smaller sitting-room with a table and cushioned benches, and behind a curtain was a tiny living-room with a couch, coffee table and a small television stand--not room for much else.

To the left of the courtyard a sheltered alcove housed the very simple kitchen, painted in bright turquoise blue. There was one other wooden door behind which was presumably a bedroom.

I love looking at other people's houses.