Kilimanjaro

Another beautiful card from Yue. 🙂

 

Mount Kilimanjaro, with its three volcanic cones, Kibo, Mawenzi, and Shira, is a dormant volcanic mountain in Tanzania. It is the highest mountain in Africa and the highest free-standing mountain in the world at 5,895 metres above sea level (the Uhuru Peak/Kibo Peak).

Mount Kilimanjaro is part of the Kilimanjaro National Park. The park is located near the city of Moshi. The park includes the whole of Mount Kilimanjaro above the tree line and the surrounding montane forest belt above 1,820 metres. It covers an area of 1,688 square kilometres. The park is administered by the Tanzania National Parks Authority. It’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Maasai people

 

 

This card comes from Yue. 🙂

The Maasai (sometimes spelled “Masai”) are a Nilotic ethnic group of semi-nomadic people inhabiting southern Kenya and northern Tanzania. They are among the best known local populations due to their residence near the many game parks of Southeast Africa, and their distinctive customs and dress. The Maasai speak Maa (ɔl Maa), a member of the Nilo-Saharan language family that is related to Dinka and Nuer. They are also educated in the official languages of Kenya and Tanzania, Swahili and English. The Maasai population has been reported as numbering 841,622 in Kenya in the 2009 census, compared to 377,089 in the 1989 census.

The Tanzanian and Kenyan governments have instituted programs to encourage the Maasai to abandon their traditional semi-nomadic lifestyle, but the people have continued their age-old customs. Recently, Oxfam has claimed that the lifestyle of the Maasai should be embraced as a response to climate change because of their ability to farm in deserts and scrublands. Many Maasai tribes throughout Tanzania and Kenya welcome visits to their village to experience their culture, traditions, and lifestyle.

Tanzania

My first card from Tanzania comes from Emmanuel. 🙂

Tanzania  is a country in East Africa in the African Great Lakes region. Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest mountain, is in northeastern Tanzania. The head of state is President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, elected in 2005. Since 1996, the official capital of Tanzania has been Dodoma, where the National Assembly and some government offices are located. Between independence and 1996, the main coastal city of Dar es Salaam served as the country’s political capital. It remains Tanzania’s principal commercial city and is the main location of most government institutions. It is also the principal port of the country.

Tanganyika and Zanzibar merged on 26 April 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar. On 29 October of the same year, the country was renamed United Republic of Tanzania (‘Tan’ comes from Tanganyika and ‘Zan’ from Zanzibar). The Articles of Union are the main foundation of Tanzania.