Tanga, Tanzania
Region
Tanga is the most northern port city of Tanzania with 224 891 inhabitants (as of 1 January 2005 ) and the name of the region surrounding the city.
History
Although the exact origin Thong is incomprehensible, since there is no archaeological or written sources for the period before the 15th century. First Observations ( porcelain), suggesting the existence of a trading place were on the 15-16. Century to date. Tanga was in any case part of the Swahili coastal culture, which was created by centuries of exchange between Arab traders and African fishermen and farmers. Of great importance for the development of thongs, the Sultan of Zanzibar was. When he took over in 1837, the sovereignty over thong, merchants and traders settled reinforced there. Tanga was - in addition to other cities on the East African coast, such as Mombasa, Bagamoyo or Kilwa - end or starting point of a caravan route and was thus hub especially for ivory and slaves. The development accelerated from approximately the mid-19th century after Said ibn Sultan had transferred his capital from Muscat in Oman finally to Zanzibar. Tanga was ruled by a governor of the Sultan. After Sultan fell to the control of the entire coast between Vanga and Pangani after 1862, Tanga lost as a commercial center in favor of the more southern Pangani important.
1888 two officers of the German East Africa Company ( DOAG ) were sent to Tanga. August 1888 was followed by a district chief DOAG. On April 9, 1891 Tanga seat of the district office of the district of the same name. Due to the urban renewal project of the German colonial power, the old settlements of blacks, Indians and Arabs were largely destroyed. The streets were laid a tessellated geometry following, and there were houses built of stone.
The city was the starting point of the Usambara 1893, which now leads to Arusha and has a branch to Tanganjikabahn. With the Hotel Kaiserhof stood here for a long time the only hotel in East Africa. 1913 passed in Tanga 4 inns.
On April 1, 1914 Tanga was awarded city rights. Still German colonial era, therefore, a coat of arms was designed, showing a triangular sail of a dhow and a mural crown. It was one of the few local symbols in the German colonies. Due to the outbreak of war in August 1914 it was no longer in use. The emblem of thumb, however, is still to be found.
From 3 to 5 November 1914 suggested here at the Battle of Tanga, the German Army for German East Africa under Paul von Lettow -Vorbeck to attempt to land a far superior British-Indian force under the command of Arthur Aitken's back.
Since 1963 Eckernförde is sponsoring city thongs. A street in Tanga named Eckernförde Avenue.
The local URITHI - local history museum Thong was supported by funding from the German government in the restoration of the building and the collection of exhibits.
Islam in Tanga
In Tanga and the surrounding area there are about 40 mosques, most of which are aligned with Sunni. In ten of these mosques on a Friday prayer is held. The largest mosque is the Haidar mosque, which was built on a plot of land that was donated to the Yemeni Haidar Sharif, built in 1949. The cost of the construction, which was completed in 1950, amounted to 150,000 shillings. Half of this amount was donated by the Agha Khan, 10,000 shillings came from the landowner Karimjee, a member of the Bohra community.
In Tanga, there are also three madrasah schools: Tamta (Tanganyika African Muslim Teachers' Association), and Zahrau Maawa. The largest of these is Tamta, which was founded in 1957 and was for decades under the leadership of Sheikh Muhammad Ayoub. It forms the center of a whole network of schools and mosques in and around Tanga, has 25 teachers and has about 700 students. The Zahrau - Madrasa, which was opened by Sheikh Sulaiman Mbwana in the district Msambweni 1966, has 500 students and 20 branches in and around Tanga, each with a teacher who is employed by the central Madrasa. The mid-1970s, founded Maawa is the smallest Madrasa with 300 students. There is strong rivalry that is exacerbated by different clan and tribal affiliations between the three madrasas.