BAGAMOYO

Bagamoyo lies 75kms north of Dar es Salaam. Bagamoyo was the starting point of the slave caravan routes and also the terminus of the white missionaries. While in Bagamoyo, visit the Kaole Ruins (dating back to the earlier part of the 15th century), and the first Roman Catholic Church in Tanganyika built by the Germans in the 1880's. Do not forget the museum, which houses numerous historical artifacts. There is also a splendid beach where one can swim and enjoy a picnic lunch.
Bagamoyo was founded towards the end of the 18th century as a small port trading in dried fish, gum, cobalt and salt. Bagamoyo also served as a caravan entreport, with traders coming from distant areas of the interior, as far as Morogoro and Usambara. Later on, the use of this town for Ivory and slave trade increased its importance in the 19th century.
Bagamoyo's importance began to decline when in 1940 the Sultan of Oman, Seyyid Said, decided to move his capital from Muscat to Zanzibar, to be closer to his dominion along the Eastern African coast.
Caravans would come to the coast from the interior with goods like clothing, wire, beads and other ornaments, and would return with slaves carrying Ivory. Hence Bagamoyo became the main entreport for the slave and ivory trade on the mainland.
Renowned European explorers like Burton, Speke, Stanley and Livingstone all passed through Bagamoyo. The Holy Ghost fathers established their first mission station in Bagamoyo in 1868, and it was in its chapel that Dr. Livingstone's body was brought from the interior and kept before being shipped back to Europe.
Fortunately Bagamoyo is now being considered for inclusion as one of the World Heritage sites, to conserve and protect the fascinating Gothic and Afro-Arabic architecture in this coastal settlement steeped in history.
Tourist attractions include the Kaole ruins dating back to the 12th century thought to mark one of the earliest contacts of Islam with Africa; the Old Fort built in 1860 for holding slaves for shipment to Zanzibar; the first Roman Catholic Church in East Africa built around 1868 used as a base to run a camp of about 650 freed slaves; the German colonial administration headquarters, the Boma, in the first capital of German East Africa; the Mission Museum displaying history of Bagamoyo; and the Livingstone Memorial Church among others. Bagamoyo white sand beaches are considered some of the finest on the whole of the East African coast.