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After a morning of fishing, the crew of a traditional local dhow ferries passengers along the north Zanzibar beaches in afternoon. |
On Friday, June 9, after the calm early morning ferry ride to Zanzibar, we dropped our bags at our hotel, located in the center of the labyrinthine Stone Town, the island's modest "capital" and a tiny city, easily crossed by foot in its entirety within an hour. Weaving through the narrow alleyways, which reminded me quite a bit of the streets of old
Damascus, we arrived at a small restaurant beside the sea called Mercury's.
Inside, once I had seen the shrine which the owners had created in one corner of the cafe, the origin of the restaurant's name was clear: it was named after Freddie Mercury, the Zanzibar-born lead singer of the band Queen. Who knew? Several decades ago, for a brief time the island's separatist movement leaders apparently even adopted as their motto the line "
Bismillah, will you let him go?" from Queen's hit "Bohemian Rhapsody."