- This article refers to the city of Arusha. For other uses, see Arusha (disambiguation).
Arusha is a city in northern Tanzania. It is the capital of the Arusha Region, which claims a population of 1,288,088, including 281,608 for the Arusha District (2002 census). Arusha is surrounded by some of Africa's most famous landscapes and national parks. Situated below Mount Meru on the eastern edge of the eastern branch of the Great Rift Valley, it has a mild climate and is close to Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater, Lake Manyara, Olduvai Gorge, Tarangire National Park, and Mount Kilimanjaro, as well as having its own Arusha National Park on Mount Meru.
Arusha is a major international diplomatic hub. The city hosts and is regarded[who?] as the de facto capital of the East African Community. Since 1994, the city has also hosted the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. It is a multicultural city with a majority African population, large Arab and Indian minorities, and many European and American ex-pats, engaged in diplomatic affairs and the fast-growing local tourist industry. Religions and denominations of Arusha's population are Catholic, Anglican, Jewish, Muslim, and Hindu.
Arusha clock tower area, 1953.
The town was founded by German colonialists when the territory was part of German East Africa in 1900. A garrison town, it was named after the local tribe Wa-Arusha, who are known as Larusa by the Maasai.
The German military fortress, called a "Boma", armed with a mounted Maxim machine gun, was completed in 1901. The first commander was First Lieutenant Georg Kuster - derogatorily referred to in Swahili as "Bwana Fisi" meaning "Mr. Hyena". After 1903 Arusha quickly developed into a significant trading and administrative centre, with about two dozen Indian and Arab shops clustered along what is today Boma Road.[1]
In 1904 the German Imperial authorities established a European colony here with the sponsored settlement of Boer refugee families, mostly of German descent, in the aftermath of South Africa's divisive Anglo-Boer War. The Germans arranged for the Boers to be taken by boat to Tanga, from where they travelled to Arusha by ox-wagon. When the oxen all succumbed to tsetse-borne disease, the Germans provided the Boers with teams of (forced) local labourers. In August 1905 they reached the Arusha district and met the Pieter Joubert trek, which had just arrived. For their immediate sojourn they set up camp on the farm of Mr. Nelie von Landsberg.[1]
After 1906 the government sponsored German peasants to develop small-holdings at Leganga on southeastern Meru between Usa River and Maji ya Chai. Several Evangelical Lutheran settlers had already become established west of Arusha town when the government decided to settle German refugees from southern Russia. Forty people were recruited at a cost of 7000 marks each, and each family was given fifty hectares to grow wheat, maize, and vegetables.[2]
In 1907 Margaret Trappe - great-grandmother of Ohio industrialist Kenyon Painter - made her home in German East Africa. An accomplished horse woman she was the first female professional hunter ever listed. The Trappe family built their home on the slopes of Mount Meru with their farm “Momella” eventually becoming part of Arusha National Park. Kenyon Painter later became one of the town's most significant investors, having invested over a million dollars in the area. He built Arusha's first post office, church and other landmarks.[1]
In March 1916 the British occupied Arusha. The British expelled the German settlers, reallocated the German estates to British settlers and alienated vast new tracts themselves.
In the 1960s parts of the movie Hatari! with John Wayne were filmed at Momella.
Princess Margaret visited Arusha in 1956. Official documents ceding independence to Tanganyika were signed by the United Kingdom at Arusha in 1961. The Arusha Declarations for Self Reliance in Tanzania were signed in 1967 in Arusha.
The Arusha Accords were signed at Arusha on August 4, 1993, by representatives of competing factions in the Rwandan civil war.
In 1994 the UN Security Council decided by its Resolution 955 of 8 November 1994 that Arusha should host the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. The establishment of the tribunal with its employees has influenced the local economy of Arusha. The tribunal is about to downsize due to its closure in 2014, but its legal successor, the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals established by United Nations Security Council Resolution 1966, will continue entertaining a branch in Arusha, opening on 1 July 2012.
Arusha officially became a city on 1 July 2006.[3]
The primary industry of the region is agriculture, with large vegetable and flower producers sending high-quality produce to Europe. Small-scale agriculture was badly hit by the coffee crisis of recent years and is now largely subsistence farming. Arusha has several factories including a brewery, tyre and fibreboard plant, and a large pharmaceuticals maker.
The region around Arusha is the sole source of a gem-quality mineral called Tanzanite, currently produced in large quantities by corporate mining concerns.
Tourism is also a major contributor to the economy in Arusha, being the second largest contributor of income in Tanzania. Given the town's location near some of the most popular national parks and game reserves in Africa including Selous National Park (one of the largest national parks in the world), Serengeti National Park, Kilimanjaro National Park, Ngorongoro Conservation Area among others, Arusha has become a popular staging point for tourists visiting Tanzania and East Africa for photo safaris and hiking treks to Mt. Kilimanjaro. Many documentary and feature-length films have been set in and around Arusha, including the 1962 Howard Hawks film Hatari with John Wayne.
Arusha is home to the offices of the East African Community, and plays host to the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights, all of which contributes to the local economy.
The famous Arusha International Conference Center, host to many international meetings, is located here.
Bishop's Cathedral of Arusha.
Among Arusha's notable districts are the Central Business Area, located by the Clocktower, Sekei in the North-West which is largely residential with a vibrant nightlife, Njiro, a posh rapidly-growing suburb in the South, and Tengeru, a lively market-town in the East.
North of Arusha is a district called Karatu, Ngorongoro, Monduli, Arumeru and Longido. It is about 90 minutes north of Arusha by daladala along the Arusha-Nairobi Road. Robanda Safari Camp is one of the favorite Safari Camp. Robanda Safari Camp is located just outside Serengeti Ikoma Gate. This location was carefully chosen so as to be right in the path of the wildebeest migration. The best time to witness this spectacular migration is from May to August and from October to December. There is a high animal concentration year round though, with big herds of wildebeest and zebra, elephant and giraffe. Other animal species include lion, hyena, gazelle, topi, and buffalo.
Arusha's clock tower 03°22′20.5″S 036°41′40.1″E / 3.372361°S 36.694472°E / -3.372361; 36.694472 (Arusha Clocktower) is popularly supposed to be situated at the midpoint between Cairo and Cape Town, therefore representing the halfway point between the two termini of the old British Empire in Africa. However, the actual great circle midpoint between these two cities lies in central Congo. The clock tower is currently adorned by the logo of the Coca-Cola Company.
Arusha is mostly served by Kilimanjaro International Airport for international travellers, some 60 kilometres (37 mi) east, approximately halfway to Moshi. The airport provides international and domestic flights. Arusha Airport is a smaller domestic airport in the west of the city, currently undergoing expansion. It serves more than 87,000 passengers yearly, amazingly for its size. It is surrounded by hills to the north and east; the local habitat is a mix of savanna woodlands, agriculture and remnant forest. There are no passenger train services to or from Arusha, but there are regular coaches (buses) to Nairobi, Dodoma and Dar Es Salaam, plus other local towns.
Arusha has moderate weather, a location near scenic countryside and a lively music scene. Tanzanian hip-hop is currently popular with the youth market. It is mostly performed in Swahili, with various genres influenced by African American music, locally known as Bongo Flava. Some examples of this genre are the band, X Plastaz, singers Nakaaya, Nako 2 Nako, Watengwa and Waturutumbi.
Arusha hosts many of Tanzania's festivals, and the yearly festival is hosted by a few Tanzanian corporate sponsors that attract various artists from around the world. Artists like Shaggy and Ja Rule have performed in Arusha.
Arusha also hosts the annual Arusha Nane Nane Agricultural show. Nane Nane is one of the many vibrant public holidays in Tanzania, held on August 8 (the 8th of the 8th month, nane nane means "eight eight" in Swahili). Farmers and other stakeholders exchange knowledge and business. It attracts up to a half million people every year.
Arusha is also known for its vibrant night life, with popular local night clubs like the Velocity, Colobus Club and the Blue Triple 'A'.
The National Natural History Museum is located in Arusha at the Old German Boma. The museum is small and contains three exhibits on early man, plants and animals of the Arusha region, and culture history of the colonial period of Arusha.[4]
There are four international schools in and around Arusha: International School Moshi (Arusha Campus), Arusha International school, Braeburn School, and St Constantine's International School.
The School of St Jude provides free education to children from the poorest families.
International School Moshi was founded in 1969 and now has 460 students from 46 nationalities on two campuses in Moshi and Arusha. The Arusha campus was established in 1986 and now has 200 day students, and offers courses from pre-kindergarten to grade 10. Grades K-10 follow the International Baccalaureate Primary years programme (PYP) and Middle Years programme (MYP) curriculum with an African and international perspective. It has been an IB World school since 2007.[5]
Also there is several higher learning Institutions including National College of Tourism - Arusha Campus, Arusha Technical college, Tengeru Institute of community Development, The Nelson Mandela African Institute of Science and Technology, Eastern and Southern Africa Management Institute, MS Training Centre for Development Cooperation (MS-TCDC), The Institute of Accountancy Arusha, Forestry Training Institute, Olmotonyi, Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute, Makumira University College, The Arusha University and The Mount Meru University. Whereas plan for Aga Khan University-Arusha Campus is in the initial stages.
Despite its proximity to the equator, Arusha's elevation of 1,400 m on the southern slopes of Mount Meru keeps temperatures relatively low and alleviates humidity. Cool dry air is prevalent for much of the year. The temperature ranges between 13 and 30 degrees Celsius with an average around 25 degrees. It has distinct wet and dry seasons, and experiences an eastern prevailing wind from the Indian Ocean, a couple of hundred miles east. Almost within the entire city; if you go north you will be going up hill, and going south is always down hill.
| Climate data for Arusha |
| Month |
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
Year |
| Average high °C (°F) |
29
(84) |
29
(84) |
27
(81) |
25
(77) |
22
(72) |
21
(70) |
21
(69) |
22
(72) |
24
(76) |
27
(80) |
27
(81) |
27
(81) |
25.1
(77.3) |
| Average low °C (°F) |
10
(50) |
11
(51) |
12
(53) |
14
(57) |
11
(52) |
9
(48) |
9
(49) |
9
(48) |
8
(47) |
11
(51) |
11
(51) |
10
(50) |
10.3
(51) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) |
58
(2.3) |
84
(3.3) |
178
(7) |
368
(14.5) |
211
(8.3) |
33
(1.3) |
15
(0.6) |
20
(0.8) |
20
(0.8) |
36
(1.4) |
112
(4.4) |
102
(4) |
1,237
(48.7) |
| Source: Weatherbase [6] |
Arusha is Tanzania's rugby home with the national team playing its international matches there. Joshua Pieterson who played for the national team was the second youngest international rugby player ever behind Johnny Wilkinson. Southern Pool A of the 2007 Castel Beer Trophy was hosted here as well.
Arusha FC, playing in Sheikh Amri Abeid Memorial Stadium, represents the city in Tanzanian league football.
The Mount Meru Marathon was held from 1985 to 2004 in Arusha.[7] The "all-comers" record for the fastest marathon performance in Tanzania, 2:13:46, was set at the event by former long-distance runner Benedict Ako on August 1, 1993.[8]
On May 21, 2011, the Drake University Bulldogs beat the CONADEIP All-Stars 17-7 in the first ever American Football Game in Tanzania.
Arusha was the setting for the 1962 film Hatari! directed by Howard Hawks and starring John Wayne. In the video game Halo 3, a highway sign is seen that says "Arusha", though it is crossed out, suggesting that the city was destroyed by the Covenant or the Flood.
- ^ a b c Philip Briggs, Northern Tanzania : The Bradt Safari Guide with Kilimanjaro and Zanzibar, second edition (2009).
- ^ Joseph Wilson Parsalaw, A history of the Lutheran Church, Diocese in the Arusha Region from 1904 to 1958 (Makumira publication), 1999.
- ^ Arusha Times
- ^ http://aroundarusha.com/content/natural-history-museum
- ^ "International School Moshi, Arusha Campus". IB World Schools. IBO. http://www.ibo.org/school/002607/. Retrieved 2008-10-23.
- ^ "Weatherbase: Historical Weather for Arusha, Tanzania". Weatherbase. 2011. http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather.php3?s=98736&refer=wikipedia. Retrieved on November 24, 2011.
- ^ "Mount Meru Marathon". Association of Road Racing Statisticians. http://www.arrs.net/HP_MMeMa.htm. Retrieved October 30, 2010.
- ^ "All-Comers Records- Marathon". Association of Road Racing Statisticians. http://www.arrs.net/AC_Mara.htm. Retrieved October 30, 2010.
Coordinates: 03°22′S 36°41′E / 3.367°S 36.683°E / -3.367; 36.683
