General Information About Tanzania
Shortly after achieving independence from Britain in the early 1960s, Tanganyika and Zanzibar merged to form the nation of Tanzania in 1964. One-party rule came to an end in 1995 with the first democratic elections held in the country since the 1970s. Zanzibar's semi-autonomous status and popular opposition have led to two contentious elections since 1995, which the ruling party won despite international observers' claims of voting irregularities.
Visas to East Africa:
While visiting Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda you will need to have a Visa to enter the states. For the case of Tanzania citizens of the UK, the US, Canada, Australia, and most countries in the European Union, need a tourist visa to enter Tanzania.
Tanzania is among the East African countries popular for her numerous numbers of destination area. It has many natural attractions including safari destination by land and air to the distinguished game parks of Northern, Southern and Western circuits.
On the Northern circuit we have:
Mkomazi game reserve, Arusha National Park, Tarangire National Park, Lake Manyara National Park, Ngorongoro Crater and Serengeti National Park.
On the Southern circuit we have:
Saadani National Park, Mikumi National Park, Udzungwa Mountains National Park, Selous Game Reserve and Ruaha National Park.
On the Western circuit we have:
Gombe Stream National Park, Mahale National Park, Katavi National Park, Kitulo National Park, Rubondo Island National Park and Saanane National Park.
On the coastal regions:
Zanzibar Island, Dar Es Salaam, Pemba Island, Mafia Island, Bagamoyo town, Pangani town, Mtwara region and Lindi region.
Tanzania Lakes popular:
Tanzania has some numbers of long and depth lakes including Lake Victoria, Lake Tanganyika and Lake Nyasa. Other lakes including Lake Manyara, Lake Natron (breeding center for pink flamingo birds) and Lake Eyasi (famous for hunter and gathers bushmen).
Mountain Climbing:
Tanzania has the tallest free standing mountain and the second in the world after Mount Everest the Mount Kilimanjaro standing at 5985 m above the sea level. Mount Meru is the second highest mountain in Tanzania adjacent to Kilimanjaro in Arusha region and Mount Oldoinyo Lengai.
Sports Played in Tanzania
The most popular sports in Tanzania are soccer and boxing. Tanzania has also produced several world class runners. For entertainment, Tanzanians enjoy music, dancing and storytelling. Socializing at coffee houses and visiting friends and relatives are important social customs. Young people play checkers and cards while older Tanzanians, especially on the coast play Mbao. This is a very popular game throughout Africa. It consists of one board with two rows of pits filled with seeds or stones. The object of the game is to "eat" all your opponents seeds. Mbao is similar to chess in that masters plan twenty moves in advance.
Movies are also an important form of entertainment. Action packed martial arts movies and Indian movies are some of the most popular. There are twelve AM and four FM radio stations. Tanzanians own more than 640,000 radio sets and they often keep them on all day long. As with most of Africa, Tanzania is known for their runners. Suleiman Nyambui and Filbert Bayi, two of the biggest names in Tanzanian Track and Field, both won Olympic medals for the country in 1980. Tanzania is also a powerhouse in the Commonwealth Games and the African Championships in Athletics.
Football is another sport that enjoys a large fan base in the country. It is very popular among the youth, this despite the fact that their national team has never qualified for the FIFA World Cup and was less than stellar in their single appearance in the 1980 African Cup of Nations. Basketball is also quite popular but is played mostly in schools and in the army. Hasheem Thabeet, who plays for the Oklahoma City Thunder in the US National Basketball Association, is the first Tanzanian-born player to join the NBA.
Cricket's popularity is also growing fast mainly after they hosted the 2008 ICC Cricket League division 4. Rugby is also slowly growing in Tanzania and used to be a part of the East Africa team. The home of Rugby in Tanzania, Arusha, also was the staging place for the 2007 Castel Beer Trophy competition.
