Signage

I'm not certain why I like this picture so much, but I do. If you know your history of Zanzibar, and if you don't, shame on you, you know that Zanzibar was the center of the world spice trade for a long time. For a time they went clove crazy, which in the long-term didn't benefit them because it left them as a one crop entity and when the clove market collapsed so did the local economy. Still, even today if you have cloves in your house there's a pretty good chance it originated in Zanzibar. We found this sign propped up on the ground floor of the hotel where we stayed in Chake Chake on Pemba. I don't know if the Zanzibar Clove Producers was still a going concern or the sign was a neglected remnant, but I do know I figured out that it would not fit in my suitcase.

I've never been one for displaying souvenirs in my house, but I'd definitely make an exception if I could spirit this sign back to the States.