Zanzibar (/ˈzænzᵻbɑːr/) is a semi-autonomous part of Tanzania in East Africa. It is composed of the Zanzibar Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, 25–50 kilometres (16–31 mi) off the coast of the mainland, and consists of many small islands and two large ones: Unguja (the main island, referred to informally as Zanzibar) and Pemba. The capital is Zanzibar City, located on the island of Unguja. Its historic centre is Stone Town, which is a World Heritage Site.

Zanzibar's main industries are spices, raffia, and tourism. In particular, the islands produce cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, and black pepper. For this reason, the islands, together with Tanzania's Mafia Island, are sometimes called the Spice Islands (a term also associated with the Maluku Islands in Indonesia). Zanzibar is the home of the endemic Zanzibar Red Colobus Monkey, the Zanzibar Servaline Genet, and the (possibly extinct) Zanzibar Leopard.

Etymology

The word Zanzibar comes from Arabic Zanjibār (زنجبار), which is in turn from Persian Zang-bār (زنگبار), a compound of Zang (زنگ, "Black, negro") + bār (بار, "coast").

Zanzibar is an Italian television sitcom which aired from 12 September to 5 November 1988. It was broadcast on the private TV channel Italia Uno and featured Claudio Bisio, David Riondino, Cesare Bocci, Antonio Catania amongst the several crew.

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"Zanzibar" is a song written by Billy Joel that first appeared on his 1978 album 52nd Street. It has also appeared on several live albums. It is particularly notable for the jazz trumpet breaks played by Freddie Hubbard.

Lyrics and music

The themes of "Zanzibar" include love of sports, love of alcohol and the singer's attempt to pick up a waitress. According to producer Phil Ramone, Joel had written the music and had decided he liked the title "Zanzibar" for the piece, but had not figured out what to say about Zanzibar. Hearing the music conjured up for Ramone images of people watching television in a bar, and as a result Joel decided to make the song about activity in a sports bar named Zanzibar rather than about the country Zanzibar. The lyrics include a number of contemporary sports references, including to heavyweight champion boxer Muhammad Ali, baseball player Pete Rose, and the baseball team the New York Yankees, who were the World Champions at the time. The lyrics also use a baseball expression as a sexual metaphor when the singer wants to steal second base with a waitress in the bar if the waitress will allow it. Joel biographer Hank Bordowitz considers the waitress to be a metaphor for Joel's first wife Elizabeth, similar to how he considers the waitress "practicing politics" in Joel's earlier song "Piano Man" to be a metaphor for Elizabeth.