CENTURY OLD TREE COLLAPSES

The almost century old tree, close to Shia Ithnasheria Mosque (built 1889), collapsed after heavy rain recently.

Observe the roots of the tree known as Mtamba, which do not seem to have penetrated deeper as is common in other species of trees. Normally children play under the shade of the tree and sometimes boat builders are also seen under this tree. Fortunately no one was there when the tree collapsed in the early morning hours.

The Ithnasheria Mosque built in 1889 during the German reign of Tanganyika or at that time known by the Colonialists as Deutch Osta Afrika.

The Swedish financed road, running parallel to the Bagamoyo District Hospital, was blocked for almost two days. No body is reported to have been injured.

CENTURY OLD TREE COLLAPSES

Bagamoyo: The very huge tree estimated to have lived for nearly one hundred years collapsed within the vicinity of Shia Ithnasheria Mosque after a downfall of heavy rain.

The Muslim Mosque was built sometime in 1889, during the reign of Germany when the country was known as Tanganyika and to the Germans as Deuitch Osta Afrika. There are two more huge trees near the Mosque and still provides shade to the people, including boat builders.

No one was reported to have been injured although the road, Swedish financed, is usually very busy day and night. The end of the branches fell a few meters away from the gate of the mortuary of the Bagamoyo  District Hospital Mortuary. The road was blocked for almost two days.

The huge branches were chopped by electric saw and also manually by "pangas" and axes. In Kiswahili, the tree is known by the name of "Mtamba". The roots of the tree, as shown in the pictures, did not go deeper as was expected. However, the tree always stood upright despite heavy wind coming from the Indian Ocean, not far the spot.

On the opposite side of the Mosque, across the road, stands Ismailia Jamaat Khana, having a common boundary with the district hospital.

Story & Pix by Abdul Hai

Bagamoyo News

 

INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON HERITAGE

Ian Jackson from Liverpool school of Architect far left, Joan algae from Gent University and Yaser Adanali from Turkey Presented their papers.

Joy Mboya from Kenya talking about her views on heritage buildings in Nairobi

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Aida Mulokozi delivering her key-note speech on behalf of DARCH at the International Symposium held at the British Council in Dar es Salaam.

"HISTORICAL HERITAGE BUILDINGS UNDER THREAT"!

“HISTORICAL HERITAGE BUILDINGS UNDER THREAT”

The one-day international symposium on historical buildings  held at the British Council in Dar es Salaam,  succeeded in hitting the point that the “urban heritage was heavily threatened”.

The symposium organized by DARCH (Dar es Salaam Centre for Architectural Heritage) and sponsored by European Union, Goethe Institute, British Council, Technische Universitat Berlin, Kulturstiftung des Bundes. The attendees was a mixture of mainly local and foreign architects, scholars and professors who numbered nearly seventy.

In a hand-out to the participants it was revealed that Dar es Salaam being among the ten fastest growing cities in the world, due to economic pressure competing particular interests and added by a weak regulatory environment, threatened heavily the heritage of the country. Numerous demolitions of historical buildings are being replaced by tall buildings of which some are of generic architectural design with alarmingly poor quality.

Historically, Dar es Salaam was founded by an Omani Sultan from close-by Zanzibar which at that time was a flourishing country. Under colonial rule the “Haven of Peace” in the then Tanganyika was ruled by colonial Germans as well as the British. Today the city, to some extent still reflects the old colonial structure with African, Islamic, Colonial, Indian and early modernistic architecture or influence..

After a welcome remark by Aida Mulokozi on behalf of DARCH and introduction by Rachel Lee of Habitat Unit, interesting in- depth papers were presented by examples of modernism and relevant issues pertaining in Ghana, India, Turkey, D.R. Congo, Kenya, Zanzibar. 

In one of the chapters, the Tanzanian Case was presented by  Muhammad Juma who referred to Urban Heritage in Zanzibar; African Architecture matters by Ng’ambo Tuitakayo; re-presentation of shared history by Annika Seifert, the mapping for community resilience in Dar es Salaam by Deogratias Evarist Minja and Simulizi Mijini which was an urban narratives of Dar es Salaam  by 13  students from Ardhi University and T.U.  Berlin.

Among the prominent people who attended the symposium and also participated in the round-table discussion included a publisher (Mkuki & Nyota) Walter Bgoya; Prof. Mascarehnas from the University of Dar es Salaam and others. The Director General of Tanzania Museum Dr. Mabulla and the author of  this story in the capacity as Chairman of Community Advisory Committee of the Museum & House of Culture (Abdul Hai) also attended the symposium.

STORY & PIX BY ABDUL HAI

BAGAMOYO NEWS