Tabora

Taborais the capital ofTanzania'sTabora Regionand is classified as a municipality by the Tanzanian government. It is also the administrative seat ofTabora Urban District. According to the 2012 census, the district had a population of 226,999.
In the early 1830s, coastal traders increasingly settled in the region to take advantage of the ivory and slave caravan trade.SwahiliandOmanitraders established Kazeh, near present-day Tabora, in the 1850s. By 1870, Tabora was home to a population of 5,000-10,000 people living in roughly fifty large square houses. These homes accommodated up to several hundred people each and had inner courtyards, adjacent garden plots, store rooms, servant quarters, and outbuildings for slaves.
The town was surrounded byNyamwezivillages, whose people provided produce and caravan labor. In this period the Sultan of Zanzibar appointed a representative there.It was part of the Kingdom ofUnyanyembe. Tabora was a center of trade for traders from as far North as theBuganda Kingdom. By August 1871, one-quarter of the town was burned when the forces of the Nyamwezi rulerMirambosacked it.
Although theGerman East Africaprotectorate was proclaimed over the region in 1885, as late as 1891 travellers reported it to be a lawless town. The German colonial administration did not gain control of it until later that year. As a major station on theCentral Line, it became the most important administrative centre of central German East Africa.
In 1916 the colonial garrison had an emergency mint at Tabora, making some gold pieces as well as large numbers of crude copper and brassGerman East African rupieminor coins,Mint markedwith a "T".
During theTabora Offensivein theEast African CampaignofWorld War I, colonial armed forces of the Belgian Congo (Force Publique) under the command of GeneralCharles Tombeurcaptured the town on 19 September 1916 after 10 days and nights of heavy fighting.
Tabora and its people mainly rely on agricultural activities as either sustenance farmers or small-scaletobaccofarmers. Tabora also hosts aballastquarry.
Water supply is managed by the Tabora Urban Water Supply and Sanitation Authority (Tuwasa), sourced from Igombe and Kazima Dams.The Igombe River is a tributary of theMalagarasi Riverand theMalagarasi-Muyovozi Wetlands.
Tabora's streets are lined with century-old mango trees planted by Omani traders. Tabora is known as the fruit capital of Western Tanzania, and markets are often filled with local produce.
Tabora has many small local restaurants offering typical Tanzanian restaurant food like Ugali (a thick maize porridge), chips, or rice with beans, beef or chicken. For breakfast or lunch, there is usually chipsi-mayai (chips and egg), which is basically a couple of eggs fried together with some chips. Although the food is bland, it is usually served with Tanzanian chili sauce, which gives the meal some character.
A local specialty is pumpkin in peanut butter sauce. This goes with the rice pilau served widely throughout the region.
For snacks there are local sambusa (samosa), some goat meat on a stick or some freshly roasted corn of the cob, all widely available in Tabora. There is a choice of fruit in the large regional market of Tabora, including pineapples, watermelons, and bananas.
Tabora has atropical savanna climate(KöppenAw) with two seasons of approximately equal length. Thewet seasonis from November to April and is followed by adry seasonfrom May to October.
Tabora is small enough to walk from one side of town to the other. Bicycle taxis, motorbike taxis and regular taxis are available.
Tabora at the moment is served by mostly paved road T18 fromSingida RegiontoKigomaand partly unpaved road T8 fromMbeyatoMwanzapassing through the district.Salt flats to the west prevent a direct road from connecting toKigoma.
In January 2013, the Tanzanian government announced the commencement of work to upgrade totarmaclevel the Tabora-Uramboroad and the 127 kilometres (79 mi)Nyahua-Tabora-Ndonoroad.In December 2012, Prime MinisterMizengo Pindastated the Tanzanian government's intent to upgrade the 359 kilometres (223 mi) Tabora-Inyonga-Mpandaroad to tarmac level before 2015.In August 2011, Deputy Minister for WorksHarrison Mwakyembetold theNational Assemblythat the government had begun to tarmac the 115 kilometres (71 mi) Tabora-Puge-Nzegaroad.
Tabora is served and is a junction on theCentral railway line, which goes east toDar es Salaam, west toKigomaon to theLake Tanganyikaand north to the port of Mwanza onLake Victoria. Trains leave three times a week in any direction.
In 2017, a new station on thestandard gauge railwayis proposed.
Tabora is served by theTabora Airportwhich is located 7 kilometers south of the centre of town. Renovation of the airport was completed in 2015.
Precision Airstarted flying to the airport three times a week on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, east fromJulius Nyerere International AirportDar es Salaamand west fromKigoma.
Tabora is home to a number of educational institutions, including:
A public boarding school located in Tabora,Tanzania.It was established in 1928 by the British Colonial rulers.It is one of the oldest girls only school in Tanzania.The school was originally established to educate the daughters of local chiefs as prospective wives of other chiefs sons who were also educated around the same area atTabora Boys Secondary School.
The school has produced students who were among the first women leaders in the country, such asAnna Abdallahone of the first woman district commissioners,Julie Manningthe first woman to study law in Tanzania,Getrude Mongellathe first President of the Pan-African Parliament.
A public school in Tanzania founded in 1922. The school was established to educate sons of African Chiefs and wealthy tribesmen.The school first followed a tribal structure where students were assigned to dormitories based on their tribe, and received education on their respective tribal customs.In its early days the school was considered the 'Eton of Tanganyika'.
The first self-government cabinet in 1961 had eight ministers whose five were all from Tabora Boys.
Among the famous people who studied at this school areRashidi Kawawaand the father of the Tanzanian nation,Mwalimu Julius Nyerere.
5°01′S32°48′E﻿ / ﻿5.017°S 32.800°E﻿ /-5.017; 32.800