Dar es Salaam

Dar es Salaam där´-ĕs-säläm´ [key] [Arab.,=haven of peace], city (2012 pop. 4,364,541), on a bay of the Indian Ocean. The former capital of Tanzania, it is the country's largest city and its communications, and economic center. The major industries produce foods and beverages, oil, textiles, clothing, shoes, cement, aluminum products, and pharmaceuticals. Although it has limited access to the sea, Dar es Salaam is Tanzania's main port; exports include cotton, sisal, coffee, diamonds, and hides. The port can handle oceangoing vessels, but dhows still carry some goods bound for coastal African and SW Asian ports. A railroad runs from Dar es Salaam to Kigoma, on Lake Tanganyika, and the Tazara Railway (also known as the Great Uhuru or Tanzam Railway) links Dar es Salaam with the Zambian Copperbelt. A cable-stayed bridge (2016) connects the city center with districts to its south. Dar es Salaam has an international airport.

Founded in 1866 by the sultan of Zanzibar, Dar es Salaam was a small town when German forces occupied it in 1887. In 1891 it became the capital of German East Africa, but its main growth began during World War II. It is the site of the Univ. of Dar es Salaam, Kivukoni Acad. of Social Sciences, Dar es Salaam Technical College, the Open Univ. of Tanzania, the College of Business Education, the Ardhi Institute, the Institute of Kiswahili Research, a botanical garden, the national archives, and the National Museum of Tanzania. Many political exiles were drawn to Dar es Salaam when Tanzania was an outspoken supporter of African liberation movements (1960s to early 1990s). In 1996, Tanzania's national assembly moved to Dodoma, but most government offices did not begin moving from Dar es Salaam until 2016. In Aug., 1998, a terrorist bomb exploded at the U.S. Embassy in Dar es Salaam, killing 11 people.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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