Msasani is an administrative ward in the
Kinondoni District
Kinondoni is one of five districts in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, others being Temeke, Kigamboni, Ubungo and Ilala (downtown Dar es Salaam). To the east is the Indian Ocean, to the north and west the Pwani Region of Tanzania. The area of Kinondo ...
of the
Dar es Salaam Region of
Tanzania
Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...
. The ward is located north west of
Dar es Salaam central business
district
A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...
. According to the 2002 census, the ward has a total population of 43,457.
The ward is geographically a
peninsula; both the ward and the peninsula are named after the Msasani
village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred ...
, which used to be the only settlement in the area. The intense urbanization of the area in recent times notwithstanding, it is still essentially a
Swahili fishermen
A fisher or fisherman is someone who captures fish and other animals from a body of water, or gathers shellfish.
Worldwide, there are about 38 million commercial and subsistence fishers and fish farmers. Fishers may be professional or recreati ...
's village.
Msasani includes some of the wealthiest areas in the Dar es Salaam Region, Peninsula, Oysterbay and Masaki. These areas contain shops, restaurants, beauty salons, pubs, and other entertainment facilities, as well as a large
bazaar selling local crafts at Slipway hotel/mall. It is also a luxury residential area, with several large villas owned by members of the Tanzanian political and economic elite. Most of these structures were built in an era of building liberalization initiated by former
President of Tanzania
The President of the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Rais wa Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania) is the head of state and head of government of the United Republic of Tanzania. The President leads the executive branch of the Government of Tanza ...
Mr.
Ali Hassan Mwinyi
Ali Hassan Mwinyi (born 8 May 1925) is a Tanzanian politician, who served as the second President of the United Republic of Tanzania from 1985 to 1995.
Previous posts include Interior Minister and Vice President. He also was chairman of the ru ...
.
Public transportation in the area is mainly provided by
s, their main end stations being Msasani on Kimweri Avenue and Masaki near the Sea Cliff Hotel. From Slipway, motored
dhow
Dhow ( ar, داو, translit=dāwa; mr, script=Latn, dāw) is the generic name of a number of traditional sailing vessels with one or more masts with settee or sometimes lateen sails, used in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean region. Typically spo ...
s provide connection to the island of
Bongoyo.
Coco Beach in Msasani is a popular holiday and weekend destination for Dar es Salaam inhabitants, although
shark attack
A shark attack is an attack on a human by a shark. Every year, around 80 unprovoked attacks are reported worldwide. Despite their rarity, many people fear shark attacks after occasional serial attacks, such as the Jersey Shore shark attacks of 1 ...
s were reported several years ago.
Embassies hosted in Msasani
Msasani hosts the Embassy of the
United States of America
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...
.
See also
Historic Swahili Settlements
References
Swahili people
Swahili city-states
Swahili culture
Kinondoni District
Wards of Dar es Salaam Region
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