Kafez

Literary

My Photo
Name:
Location: Dublin, Republic of, Ireland

Sunday 15 June 2008

In Tanzania

I'm sorry for all the grammatical errors in my last post. I'm writing everything in a rush these days and only have 10 minutes for this post before I have to dash outdoors again.
When I return to Ireland, I shall narrate more snippets and anecdotes. It's pretty difficult now.
I spent yesterday at Bagamoyo. The ruins are spectacular. Even Germans set up shop in the town and the village folk do dress in how shall I put it...a sort of ancient Arabian culture. I don't have the right terms for those costumes but will look it up and write it down later. Think Ali Baba & the Forty Thieves or even Arabian Nights and you're close.
There were gravesites of Sultans and their many wives. These were represented by imposing stone fortresses and these were at least 900 years old. There was also an ancient mosque. The port has now turned into an eerie-looking mangrove swamp where the sea still drifts into the mud and trees.
I went to take some pictures while Lemington my guide and the driver waited atop the hill. Suddenly, I felt chilled to the bone and decided I should stop. It was a scorching afternoon. I ran up the hill and told Lemington that I thought that there were ghosts. Certainly, there was a different energy and I also felt an icy cold sensation on my skin. I was joking but we became curious.
There were some historians about the places and students on a field trip. But they were nowhere near this specific spot.
We went to see the caretakers and the wife told us that indeed, there were. In her words, spirits. She asked me if I had felt anyone touch me or stroke my skin repeatedly. Well, I said no. She said that it has happened to her family several times. And not just at night. Sometimes, there are the sound of loud and noisy footsteps on the rough stones but you will see no one about the place. Or the sound of a moving vehicle but still nothing. She and her husband said that on such days, no tourists come at all...there simply isn't any business. The family's quarters are on the site and they have lived there a long while. They say they're not harmed but they have seen apparitions and felt touches. Mostly that.
She was only concerned that I was alright and I said, of course. Apparently, this strange energy is strongest at the old port and not the gravesite.
There is also a well that never runs dry no matter who tries to empty it. This is situated near the mangrove swamp. The water has stayed at the same level and spotted the same residue for almost a 1000 years. If anyone tries to clean the well, the next day, it's back to how it's always looked in ancient times.