My African Dream
By Soheila Amiri
Guest contributor
Africa, living in a part of the beautiful, unexplored and surprise-filled continent may be among the last choices of immigration destination for Iranians, or it may not have a place in their migration list at all.
I am not an exception; even when I went on a two-week tourist trip to Kenya, a beautiful country in East Africa, and visited the cities of Nairobi, Mombasa and Nakuru Wildlife Park in 2005, I still had no idea of immigrating to this continent.
But everything changed when I went to Africa again as a tourist, this time to Tanzania, and I was impressed by the beauty of nature and the peaceful spirit of the people of East Africa. Tanzania became the destination of my migration and at the same time, in 2011, “my African dream” was formed.
Why the African dream?
The idea was formed in my mind mostly in a kind of confrontation with the dominant mentality of the people of Iran and the people of the world. When everyone is talking about the “American dream,” I thought why shouldn’t Africa be a destination for me or many immigrants to realize their dreams?
A place that has the potential to refresh people’s souls away from the hustle and bustle of the modern world, to challenge their capabilities to accept a simple life alongside nature as well as an indigenous and largely unknown culture.
A place that can reduce desires based on capital and money in today’s world, leading people to peace and tranquility.
This is a common point of view among many foreign people living in Tanzania, who say that they have found a deep and beautiful peace with themselves there.
Swahili language
Swahili is the language of more than five countries in East Africa, including Tanzania. A language based on native words and sounds; many Persian words are also used in it. Persian words that are still interesting and exciting to me after hearing them from a Tanzanian, such as Kaka, Dada, Bas, Rangi (Rang), Babu (grandpa), Bibi (grandma), Daftaru (daftar), Bozi (Boz), Qalamou, Barfou, Dabbeh, Zama (Zaman), Omri (Omr) and Nafasi (Nafas).
About the influence of Persian words in the Swahili language, it is said that people from Shiraz and merchants from the south of Iran traveled to this continent, especially to Zanzibar Island in Tanzania.
Courageous people from Iran who, hundreds of years ago, went to explore this beautiful continent by ship and spread the culture, language and art of Iranians in a part of the continent.
Mumbo Jumbo
Saying a simple “Mumbo Jumbo” is the key to your way into a Tanzanian’s heart, which is like “Hello, how are you?”
Tanzanian people are kind and friendly, so you will never feel uneasy with them.
In all the years I lived in Tanzania, I never felt homesick, I missed my homeland and visiting my loved ones, but I never felt homesick, because people everywhere welcome you with open arms, they outshine you with a smile.
Interwoven with Persian ancestry along East Africa
A study has revealed the existence of interwoven African and Persian ancestry along the Swahili coast in Eastern Africa.
Published in the journal Science Advances in April 2023, the research analyzed ancient DNA samples from individuals who lived in the region over the past 1,400 years.
According to lead author Ondrej Hlinka, a postdoctoral researcher in anthropology at Rice University, “The East African coast has a long and complex history of population movement and cultural exchange. Our findings provide a glimpse into the genetic diversity and interconnectedness of the region.”
The study found evidence of individuals with Persian ancestry living in the region dating back to the 7th century. The researchers also discovered that the mixing of African and Persian ancestry occurred more frequently than previously thought, with some individuals having up to 50% Persian ancestry.
“Entwined African and Asian genetic roots of medieval peoples of the Swahili coast” was published in Nature magazine. It examines genetic ancestry and cultural influences in eastern Africa by using DNA from the skeletal remains of 80 individuals who were buried in six medieval and early modern coastal towns in Kenya and Tanzania, dating to the years 1250-1800, and an inland town in Kenya, dating to after 1650.
What are we doing in Tanzania?
The idea of launching an Iranian restaurant in Tanzania was implemented a year after my moving to the country. Without any restaurant experience, of course, I was a journalist in Iran, and my husband was dealing in woodwork and sales.
I learned the first skills from YouTube training videos for cooking different types of Iranian kebabs, thanks to the kind people who had shared their experiences on this platform, and then it was just continuous effort, learning and gaining experience.
Due to the dispersion of Iranian immigrants almost all over the world, there is a good knowledge of Iranian cuisine.
Currently, the customers of our Iranian restaurant named “Chattanooga” in the beautiful port city of Dar es Salaam are a variety of Europeans and Americans, Indians and Arabs, and some local people. While they love to eat Chelo-Kabab and Qormeh-Sabzi with cucumber-yogurt and Shirazi salad with Dough, they also enjoy being in a place that reminds them of Iran, which is decorated with Iranian carpets and handicrafts.
We chose the name “Chattanooga” just to evoke the memory of the first modern restaurant in Iran that started working with the same name in 1966 in Tehran, and, of course, its phonetic proximity to the Swahili word of “Chakula,” which means food and eating.
Attractions of traveling to Tanzania
There is no shortage of beautiful sights in Tanzania. First of all, being in a continent with people of different skin color but a kind and different lifestyle is attractive to tourists.
But what makes the trip to the country most memorable and different is seeing the local culture in the Maasai villages, visiting the wildlife parks, which are among the largest of their kind in the world, and giving tourists the opportunity to see the big five animals – hippos, elephants, lions, rhinos and giraffes.
Visiting the spice gardens, enjoying the white sand beaches of Zanzibar and Bongoyo islands, as well as tasting the local foods and fruits, along with visiting handicraft markets are among other attractions.
But for most tourists and most of us Iranians, it is also interesting to visit Shirazi city.
Bagamoyo, a city 70 kilometers from Dar es Salaam, has a tourist area called Shirazi city, where tourists can see the remains of the first city built by Shirazi immigrants in Tanzania about a thousand years ago. An honor for all Iranians.
Africa Art Center in Tehran
Since its inauguration in 2021, Africa Art Center has been the permanent exhibition of African art, culture, lifestyle, products and traditions of Tanzania.
At the center, cultural enthusiasts can purchase authentic sculptures, colorful fabrics and original paintings from famous African artists that show the simple yet intriguing life of Africans, as well as Masaai decorations.
Culinary enthusiasts can look forward to the large selection of organic spices from Zanzibar’s spice gardens such as paprika, cinnamon, turmeric, black pepper, coffee, pure cocoa powder and cashew nuts.
Spoil yourself and your loved ones with a variety of organic oils such as coconut, moringa, avocado and shea butter from the beautiful land of Tanzania.
You will always come back to AAC for more flavors, colors and aromas of Africa.