Seasonal winds on the Indian Ocean provided opportunity for ancient sailors to move from port to port.
Indian Ocean Trade Networks
A network of tradings zones in the Indian Ocean developed between 300 BC and AD 300. This network not only generated awareness of the larger world in the NT period, but introduced luxury goods to those who could afford them.
Logboat
A traditional East African logboat. An outrigger like this is known locally as a Nagalawah. I spoke with its owner yesterday (his father built it). I learned that this particular craft is about seven years old and hewn from a single mango tree trunk. It was modified with a frame of eucalyptus and mangrove poles lashed together with nylon rope.
The nagalawah is the workboat of the east Indian Ocean with a design tradition that goes back a thousand years or more.
It's low tide on the east coast of Zanzibar right now. This one is not going anywhere soon.
Where the safari started
Our flight into Zanzibar settled on the runway after midnight. I looked out the window. It was dark and soft like the inside of a smudge pot and there was little to see except the flashes of the ground crew. A tug swung around. Its lamps illuminated palm fronds just beyond the pavement. Dense vegetation completed the backdrop.