| Write and win:Amboni caves tour, both fascinating | Send to a friend |
| Sunday, 03 April 2011 11:19 |
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We set off in the morning and prayed for a safe journey. At the entrance of the Amboni caves, an official tour guide named Kassim met our group. Kassim is an experienced and charming guide. He has been taking tourists around the caves for the past 10 years. Before making an entrance of the first cave, we were required to write our names in the official record book, which is kept in the tour guide's office but our leader, quickly wrote the names for us because we were a group of 20. There was total darkness in the caves. Thus no one was able to see anything through the darkness until 15 minutes later when the sight adjusts to darkness.The Amboni caves are a vast of limestone and a wonderland with extraordinary and fascinating crystal formations. One chamber is called 'Mzimuni' or spirits chamber. Here, we found many bottles, flags of different colours, coins, charcoal, bones and lots of foodstuff placed on one corner of the cave. Kassim, our guide, mentioned that those were the 'gifts' that the local villagers offered to the spirits. He claimed that, women who couldn’t conceive, got pregnant shortly after 'praying' and offering their ‘gifts’ to the spirits.“Even Europeans come here to pray and later claim that their problems are solved. Religious people, individuals and groups, come here from all over East Africa,” said Kassim.We were then escorted into a big chamber, in which some rays of light penetrated through a hole in the cave's ceiling. Kassim told us that if one followed the light thinking that he would arrive at ground level, he would be probably end up getting lost. He said that to know and follow the dark passages was more important. The chambers and passages of the caves echo with peculiar, often like Dracula noises and bats who make their home.Our tour was very educative as we appreciated what Tanzania has to offer to both domestic and foreign tourists. Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites           |
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