SEPTEMBER 2023
VO L . 1
ORIGINS &
DESTINATIONS Tanzania
Origin of
Humans
the story of Olduvai George
Safari
Adventures
all you need for unforgettable willife encounters
What to
See & Do
all your itinerary must include
Travel
Tips , Tricks & Deals
from what to pack to where to stay & everything in between
For
Kids
fun facts, games & stories for little adventurers LIVINGNOTES® COPYRIGHT 2023
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* P l e a s e n o t e t h a t t h e l i g h t d i s t o r t i o n s v i s i b l e i n s o m e o f t h e i m a g e s a r e t h e by p r o d u c t o f t h e s o f t w a r e u s e d t o c r e a t e
this editorial, and that they do not appear in the original pictures or prints.
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LETTER from E D I TO R
W
e booked our first trip to Tanzania for October of 2020. Because of the pandemic, we had to fly all the way to Qatar, change planes and retract back to Africa. It took over 42 hours to get to Tanzania. We were exhausted and drained. Our plane was scheduled to land at 7am. As we were getting closer, the pilot radio came on asking everyone to look to their left side. The moment my eyes locked on a small plane window, my heart skipped a beat: the rising sun was bathing the very top of Mount Kilimanjaro in golden rays. The beauty of Tanzanian nature, pure yet breathtaking, was welcoming us in. Our plane landed in the smallest (although international) airport I have ever been to. As we walked down the tarmac and our feet touched the ground for the time, an unexplainable sense of belonging gushed through every cell of my body. It was overwhelmingly peaceful. Felt like… I came home. That feeling never left. We came back to Africa many times after, but this unique, all-embodying feeling of belonging resurfaced every time we made our way to Tanzania. There is no other place like it. (continued on the next page)
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I never thought when googling “best times to go to Serengeti”, and then trying to figure out how to book tickets on a tiny plane that would actually take us to Serengeti, that I was booking tickets that would change my life forever. Being in Tanzania was not only about the overwhelming, hard-to-explain-inwords feeling of belonging. It was also about love. Genuine. Real. Unfiltered and unconditional. The kind that heals you & gives you wings to fly. The kind that makes you look at everything differently. The kind that changes you. For the better. Tanzania is about connecting to nature and connecting to self. And then it was also about connecting with people, who’d become your life-long friends. More than friends. Family. Blood. Parts of your hearts and lives. Forever. It feels like we have known each other from somewhere before. Unexplainable. Yet, very real. Tanzania showed what veritable life is. Life without noise. Life where kindness matters. Life where being genuine is the only way to live. Life where you can just be. As you are. Without judgment or expectations. Tanzania changes you. That’s what it does: it changes you. It’s impossible to go there and come back being the same. You become a different person. You see things in a new way. You care. Care so much! About everything, with the world, nature & people prevailing over all.
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B u t A f r i c a c h a n g e d m e. Filled my soul. Nourished my heart. Made me a better person, too. D e f i n i t e l y, a h a p p i e r o n e. Africa will change yo u t o o . Tr u s t m e. We a r e s h a r i n g s o m e o f o u r thoughts through words & p i c t u r e s w i t h yo u h e r e. I do believe that energ y has no boundaries or limitations. Ta n z a n i a i s o u r h a p py p l a c e. May some of that happiness become a p a r t o f yo u r l i f e, t o o .
O LYA H I L L
TALAOSD A GE
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O u r f av o r i t e p l a c e i n t h e e n t i r e Ta n z a n i a . W h e n yo u c o m e t o TA A S A , yo u a r e h o m e. . .
COVER IMAGE BY BOBBY AMIREBRAHIMI @POINTDEVUE.ART
MASTHEAD & C O N T R I BU TO R S OLYA HILL
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BABAK AMIREBRAHIMI EDITOR & PHOTOGRAPHER
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F E A T U R E D LivingNotes
10 ABOUT
DESTINATION
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W h a t Wi k i p e d i a s a y s a b o u t Ta n z a n i a . . .
F U N FA C T S
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Some surprising facts about Ta n z a n i a e v e r yo n e s h o u l d know!
I WISH I KNEW...
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Things we lear ned the hard w a y. . . s o yo u d o n’ t h av e t o !
CHECKLIST
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E v e r y t h i n g yo u n e e d f o r a n e n j o a y b e, s u c c e s s f u l & c o s t effective Safari experience!
TIPS & TRICKS
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ORIGINS
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Fr o m h o w t o p a c k l i g h t , t o b e i n g a c o n s c i o u s t r av e l e r, t o s o m e n i f t y p h o t o g r a p hy t i p s , w e g o t yo u c ov e r e d i n this section!
A I R FA R E D E A L S 3 2
All the secrets on & where to find the best airfare deals!
HOTELS
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Best locations to visit in Ta n z a n i a & b e s t a c c o m m o dations for every budget.
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T R AV E L
C U LT U R E
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Lear n about the fascinating h i s t o r y o f Ta n z a n i a , o r i gins of humans and Maasai p e o p l e.
N AT U R E
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A literary take on the magnificently beautiful nature o f Ta n z a n i a f r o m Z a n z i b a r to Mount Kilimanjaro and everything in between.
DID YOU KNOW?
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L e t ’s e x p l o r e t h e c u l t u r e, nature and wildlife of Ta n z a n i a t h r o u g h b e a u t i f u l imagery & fun facts!
ADVENTURES
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FOR
KIDS A RT & T R AV E L
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What we do, our art, and a cause that is very dear to our hearts.
T R AV E L E R ’ S D I A RY
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F i r s t f o u r d a y s i n Ta n z n i a t h r o u g h O l y a ’s , o u r e d i t o r i n c h i e f , e ye s .
T O S EE & D O 2 8 8 W h a t yo u r i t i n e r a r y s h o u l d i n c l u d e. . .
BEST PLACES T O E AT 292 Some of the best and authentic eateries and restaurants for every tastes & budget.
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W H AT E V E RY K I D SHOULD KNOW ABOUT TANZANIA
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S p e n d q u a l i t y t i m e w i t h yo u r k i d s & help them learn amazing trivial facts about Ta n z n i a through pictures, games, & stories.
STRETCH 301 YOUR MONEY How to stay within yo u r b u d g e t w i t h o u t compromising yo u r e x p e r i e n c e.
305 BUDGETF R I E N D LY EXPERIENCES Suggestions on how t o m a k e yo u r t r i p f u n and enjoyable without breaking the bank.
OUR S T O RY
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L U X U RY 308 EXPERIENCES One in a lifetime adventures that’ll take yo u r s a f a r i e x p e r i e n c e to the next level.
GAMES
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Tr i v i a , w o r d p u z z l e s a n d s o m u c h more!
BEDTIME STORIES 335
C AT A L O G U E 4 0 2 SPONSORS 410 &O F F E R S
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Destination
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About As Wikipedia says, Tanzania (/ˌtænzəˈniːə/] Swahili: [tanzaˈni.a]), officially the United Republic of Tanzania (Swahili: Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique & Malawi to the south; Zambia to the southwest; and Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west. Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest mountain, is in northeastern Tanzania. According to the 2022 national census, Tanzania has a population of nearly 62 million, making it the fifth largest in Africa. Tanzania is an East African country known for its vast wilderness areas. They include the plains of Serengeti National Park, a safari mecca populated by the “BigFive” game (elephant, lion, leopard, buffalo, and rhino), and Kilimanjaro National Park, home to Africa’s highest mountain. Offshore lie the tropical islands of Zanzibar, with Arabic influences, and Mafia, with a marine park home to whale sharks and coral reefs.
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Fun Facts Tanzania Is Home To Some Of Africa’s Most Amazing Lakes For example, Lake Victoria is the largest lake in Africa, the largest tropical lake in the world, and the world’s second-largest freshwater lake. There Are More Languages Than In Any Other Countr y In East Africa Tanzania has over 100. An even better fact about Tanzania is that it doesn’t have an official language (probably because it has so many). It’s a multilingual country, but Swahili is like a lingua franca. Around 10% speak Swahili as their first language, but about 90% speak it as a second. Everyone we’ve met spoke English too! Tanzania Has Stunning Islands There are the islands of Tanzania’s Indian Ocean coast. That’s where you will find the Zanzibar Archipelago. The main island, known as Zanzibar, is called Unguja. There’s also the historic Mafia Island. You will have to remind yourself you are in Africa when visiting Zanzibar. Feel like you are somewhere in tropics! But away from the sea, Zanzibar hosts some pretty cool islands like Ukerewe. This is the largest lake-based island not only in Lake Victoria but in the whole of Africa! Tanzania Is Home To Africa’s Highest And Lowest Points Mount Kilimanjaro, one of the most prominent ones in the world, is 19,341 feet above sea level, the highest point in Africa. Now it’s time for the lowest.The floor of Lake Tanganyika, Africa’s deepest, stretches down – 1,155 feet below sea level. Freddie Mercur y Was Born In Tanzania One of Tanzania’s most famous sons is none other than Queen frontman Freddie Mercury. He was born Farrokh Bulsara in Zanzibar to Parsi Indian parents. Fleeing the Zanzibar Revolution in 1964, teenage Freddie & his parents found themselves in Middlesex. The rest is history.
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Almost 40 Percent Of The Countr y Is Protected For Conservation The most famous areas are the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Conservation areas, but there’s also Ruaha, The Selous, Gombe Stream National Park, and many more, which makes Tanzania an ideal destination for all kinds of safaris. The Ngorongoro Crater Is The Largest Of Its Kind In The World The Ngorongoro Crater holds the record as the biggest extinct caldera in the world. It is 12 miles in diameter, 102 miles square, and makes up most of the eponymous Ngorongoro National Park.Today, the crater is lush, grassy, & inhabited by rhinos, leopards, zebras, warthogs, and a host of other whos-who of the savannah landscape. It is one of the most fascinating sights to witness in Africa. Lake Olduvai Has Human Fossils From A Couple Of Millions Of Years Ago This is one of the most interesting facts about Tanzania. One of Tanzania’s (many) beautiful lakes was where some pretty old human remains were found. Humanoid bones discovered here – namely, the Australopithecus – date back millions and millions of years. The world’s oldest known human skull was also found nearby in Olduvai Gorge. It was all pretty straightforward until traders from Persia, India, and Arabia moved in.
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Travel
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