When visiting a new place or country, one of my favourite places to see is a food market. A wealth of colourful produce, busy and bustling with people, interest and smells of all description good and bad. In other words, a complete overload of the senses.
There is so much to learn from the food on offer: they give you an idea of what the indigenous people eat and what crops, fruits and vegetables are grown. Whereas some items are very familiar, there are others that are unrecognisable leading me to believe that not all food travels well, and reinforcing the fact that, globally, we have different tastes.
On a recent trip to Tanzania, I had the privilege of visiting Darajani market in Stonetown, Zanzibar. It proved just as interesting as I had hoped with mountainous mounds of spices, vibrant fruits, lush vegetables and a raucous, pungent fish and meat section with vendors' once white overalls showing heavy traces of the sealife and carcasses they had been cutting into. An odd location to visit some might think, but to me, the heartbeat of a population centre, and an absolute dream for people watching.
