Maputo Jamatkhana, Mozambique

4 thoughts

1. Ahhhh, so many childhood memories of vacations to Maputo and attending this magnificent Jamatkhana, not to mention swimming in the shark net protected beaches of the warm and inviting Indian ocean, visits to the inland shangrila oasis Bilen, the vibrant restaurants serving peri-peri chicken, clandestine visits to Shifa Manine, I could go on and on………..

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2. MSMS used to say this was the most beautiful jamatkhana in the world followed by Kampala

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3. Shams: The Jamatkhana shown here was completed during the present Imam’s time. The one you are referring to was built during Imam Sulatn Muhammad’s time. Here is a link to a story which contains an image of the old Jamatkhana.

   http://www.theismaili.org/cms/266/Maputo-Jamatkhana-evokes-a-long-history-of-Ismailis-in-Mozambique

   With regard to Easy Nash’s nostalgic memories, I should add to that – I never knew about the sharks when I was a child swimming in the beaches of LM (aka Lourenco Marques, now Maputo). We were happy the nets were there on some beaches to protect us from the jelly fish – they were awful. I must say I enjoyed, and felt much safer, in the waters of Kunduchi and Silversands in Dar and other beaches on the Tanzanian and Kenyan coasts.

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4. In response to Simerg let me point out that my memory of shark nets surrounding a swimming beach refers to the Polana Beach Hotel, which is now the Serena-Polana Beach Hotel, an AKDN-owned property. Sharks have always been an issue in the warm waters of the Indian ocean where the warm water tends to bring them closer to shore in search of food. Just spitting distance south of Maputo(aka Lorenco Marques) is the South African coastal city of Durban, which is probably where my ancestors from India jumped ship in 1894 to begin a new life on the African continent. But I digress. The beaches of Durban have attracted large numbers of surfers over the decades and also suffers the ignominous distinction of being one of the most dangerous shark attack capitals in the world. The point is that the nets around the Polana Beach in the 1960s were there to prevent shark, not jellyfish, attacks. I’ve been stung by a jellyfish before, interestingly, off the Mombasa Coast in Kenya and, while painful, it is like a baby’s kiss compared to a shark bite I am sure.

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