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| Mt. Meru, from just outside of Arusha |
One of our recent visits took us to the city of Arusha, in northern Tanzania. Arusha is located near Mt. Meru, one of the highest mountains in Africa. (On our drive to the city, we also got an incredible view of Mt. Kilimanjaro—THE highest mountain in Africa.) Arusha is also a stopping point for many on safari. Within just a few hours of the city are many of the best game parks in the country. And, being that it is at a much higher elevation than Dar, the weather was so much cooler…what a refreshing break from the summer heat!
One of our highlights was visiting the Cultural Heritage Center. The main part of the center is shops that sell many African crafts and different types of art work. There is also a bookstore, a glass store, a clothing store and a restaurant. However, the bulk of the business is in the sale of tanzanite. The owner gave us an interesting education on the gem and showed us many different sizes and colorations of the stones. I have never seen so many tanzanite stones!
Next to the center is a museum/gallery that showcases African artists. Just as impressive as the artwork was the building itself. It reminded me of the Guggeheim museum in that you followed a spiral path around the building, gradually moving higher (or lower) throughout the displays.
While we were there, we were able to visit with Gary and Diane Eberts who pastor one of the local churches in town. They were so gracious to take their time to show us around the city and we were blessed to be able to worship their church on Sunday.
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| Mt. Kilimanjaro, in the morning. It was a beautiful drive with the mountain on one side and the sun rise on the other. |
