Introduction
The name of Dar es Salaam means “Haven of Peace” in the Arabic language. Dar es Salaam is the largest city of the eastern African country of Tanzania and houses much of its government. The city is also Tanzania's industrial center and its main port on the Indian Ocean.
Places of interest
The State House and several other government buildings are located in the older part of the city, near the entrance to the harbor. The National Museum of Tanzania has relics of early ancestors of humans, including a 1.7-million-year-old skull found at Tanzania's Olduvai Gorge. The Village Museum exhibits full-scale models of traditional buildings. Dar es Salaam also has a botanical garden. The University of Dar es Salaam is only one of the city's centers of learning. The Kariakoo Market is a lively gathering place, and there are beaches near the city.
Economy
Government agencies, business offices, banks, and other services provide many jobs in Dar es Salaam. Local factories produce cloth, food products, cement, fertilizer, soap, and other small products.
Photograph:The natural harbor at Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, is an important outlet for the country's …
* The natural harbor at Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, is an important outlet for the country's …
Dar es Salaam's port has a large natural harbor. It handles many of Tanzania's exports, including nuts, coffee, and minerals. Dar es Salaam is the hub of Tanzania's transportation network of rivers, roads, and railways. Railways run inland to Lake Tanganyika, Lake Victoria, and Zambia. The capital also has an international airport.
History
Dar es Salaam was founded in 1862 on the site of an old village called Mzizima. The city was founded by the sultan of Zanzibar, a nearby island in the Indian Ocean. The sultan wanted a new port for shipping goods from the mainland of Africa. As a Muslim ruler, he gave the city a name in Arabic, the language of his religion.
The European rush to colonize Africa reached Dar es Salaam in 1887, when the German East Africa Company established a station there. The city soon became the capital of German East Africa, a territory larger than present-day Tanzania. The Germans put up many buildings on the streets the sultan had laid out. Dar es Salaam became well connected with inland cities in 1907, when a railroad was completed.
In World War I (1914–18), Germany lost its African colonies. Dar es Salaam then became capital of the new British territory of Tanganyika. Tanganyika became independent in 1961 and then merged with Zanzibar in 1964 to form the new country of Tanzania. Dar es Salaam remained the capital.
In 1974, the inland town of Dodoma was chosen to be the country's new capital. However, progress in moving the government was slow. By the end of the 20th century the move was far from complete, and Dar es Salaam was still regarded as the seat of government. Dar es Salaam also continued to grow rapidly. It is now many times larger than Tanzania's second largest city. Population (1995 estimate), 1,747,000.
