At the beginning of the 20th century, Arusha was no more than a small German garrison town. Today, it is the tourist capital of Tanzania, and owes its economic development to the boom in safaris and the emergence of Tanzania as a mass tourism destination. The town owes its name to the tribe that inhabited the region when the first Westerners arrived: related to the Maasai, they nevertheless made the transition from nomadic pastoralism to farming. The region was in fact only conquered by German troops at the expense of these warriors, aided by Chagga auxiliaries from Kilimanjaro, after fierce fighting in 1896. The original village, made up of huts and granaries surrounded by banana plantations, was destroyed and all traditional weapons confiscated. The Wa-Arushas themselves had to build the Boma, the German fort, completed in 1899 and still partly visible today, housing a unit of 150 soldiers and symbolizing the German stranglehold on the region's territory. Today, Arusha is the administrative center of a city of half a million inhabitants, surrounded by densely populated countryside (over 350,000 inhabitants). It is the agricultural center of a region that produces coffee on the slopes of Kilimanjaro, cotton, pyrethrum (camomile) and sisal.Its assets. With the establishment by the UN of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) in 1994 and the advent of safari tourism, Arusha has gradually positioned itself as Dar es Salaam's economic runner-up. Real estate prices are rising and growth prospects are bright, yet construction sites continue to multiply. Just look up: business offices are springing up like mushrooms. After the Njiro complex in the south-east, another large Western-style shopping mall, the Aim Mall, has sprung up in the direction of the airport. Arusha is now developing along vertical lines, with banks and hotels. The most expensive hotels, at several hundred dollars a night, can be found near the Clock Tower, in the town center and in the colonial quarter.With its conference center, the Arusha International Conference Center (AICC), the city is a permanent venue for international conferences and seminars. But Arusha's flagship activity is obviously safaris, with hundreds of companies operating in this juicy market. The city is an almost obligatory departure point for the northern national parks (Serengeti, Ngorongoro and Lake Manyara). Arusha has a small airport, but most tourists land at Kilimanjaro International Airport, 50 km away, or in Nairobi, which is only a 5-hour drive away. High-mountain expeditions are also a big hit, with Kilimanjaro, the roof of Africa (5,895 m), and Mount Meru (4,562 m).Daily life in Arusha. By day, the main street, Sokoine Road, is invaded by streams of multicolored vehicles, trucks, buses and pedestrians, all seemingly converging to trade fruit, bags of rice, corn or beans, second-hand clothes, mechanical parts or rubber tire shoes. Fundi, or craftsmen, from carpenters and cabinetmakers to mechanics and tailors, line the roadsides by specialty. They live outside all the time, busying themselves with their tasks while waiting for new customers to come and bring them enough to continue their work. In truth, Arusha doesn't offer the visitor any exciting sights, but it does boast comfortable luxury hotels, good restaurants and extensive shopping for Maasai handicrafts. It's an excellent base for resting before or after a safari. You can also get to know the Maasai culture by spending a day or two with them in one of the more or less remote surrounding villages.Potential dangers at night. By day, Arusha is not a dangerous city. In the evening, when night falls at 7pm, the reality changes radically, not least because of the lack of street lighting. So plan to return from your travels accordingly. From your room or lodge, if you have to go out, call a cab. But don't be paranoid. Just be vigilant and cautious, and take a cab.

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