When planning a vacation in Tanzania and studying information about the country, many tourists are surprised that this country actually has two capitals. The official, legislative capital of Tanzania is located in the city of Dodoma, while the administrative center of the country is Dar es Salaam.
The official capital of Tanzania - Dodoma - is located in the central part of the country, 320 km from the coast. Natural conditions in the city and its environs are determined by the equatorial monsoon climate. The average January temperature is about 26 degrees, and July - about 17 degrees. From November to May there is a rainy season. The period from June to October is very dry, at this time there is almost no rainfall. The Dodoma area is replete with various representatives of the African fauna. Here you can see antelopes, elephants, monkeys, giraffes, rhinos, lions, leopards, cheetahs, hippos and many other animals. It is no coincidence that many tourists for a safari in Tanzania choose the neighborhood of the capital.
About 320 thousand people live in the Dodoma. About 99% of the population of the city are representatives of various ethnic groups in Africa: Nyamwezi, Haya, Jagga, Gogo, Masai and others. The remaining residents are descendants of immigrants from Asian as well as European countries. The official languages are English and Swahili. The first is mainly used in the business sphere, and the second - in everyday communication. As for religion, in the capital mainly adherents of Christianity (Catholicism) and Islam. A small percentage are adherents of traditional folk religions.
The official capital of Tanzania is rather poor in architectural monuments. The sights of the city include government and presidential residences, as well as the building of the railway station, erected at the beginning of the XX century. Also in the city is the sacred Sikh temple, in which all travelers are treated to tea with local sweets called "prassad". In addition, the Geological Museum is located in Dodom. As for higher education institutions, they are absent in the capital.
The historical capital of Tanzania - Dar es Salaam - is the largest city in the country, playing a crucial economic role. The city is home to over 2.5 million inhabitants. Dar es Salaam is located on the east coast. The city lost the official status of the capital of the country to Dodoma in 1970.
The first European to land in Dar es Salaam (then called Mzizim) was Albert Rocher from Hamburg. This event occurred in 1859. The current name for the city was given by the Sultan of Zanzibar named Seyyid Majid. From Arabic Dar es Salaam is translated as "the house of peace." After the death of the Sultan, in 1870, the city fell into decay, in which he remained until 1887, when the East African company from Germany decided to open its office here. The rapid development of the city was also facilitated by the construction of the railway, which began to function in the early twentieth century.