Reading the Writing on the Wall

Now that the power blackout makes Internet, television, and radio hard to access, it’s helpful to be able to read the writing on the wall—literally.  And all over Stone Town, there is writing on the wall—in Kiswahili, English, and Arabic, and sometimes all three.  Plastic lighted store signs here are very rare, and wooden signs are only at posh tourist places.  But many corner stores have painted signs, sometimes with pictures representing what the business does or the soccer team that the owner supports.

There are also painted signs with religious messages in a few places—some very stylized, like this one outside Hamani Baths, one of the many ruined relics of the 19^th century and better economic times in Stone Town.

What I find most fascinating, though, is the chalkboard-style writing on walls.  There is a black paint here that’s marketed as chalkboard paint, and there are large and small black squares around town that serve as newsboards, usually with soccer scores from the British Premier League.  Our favorite of these is the one by “Tulia” and “Poa,” a large chalkboard space that is meticulously updated with soccer match times and, later, scores.  Recently there’s also been a witty update on how many more days of “trial in error” there is predicted to be until the electricity is to be restored.

Until then, the writing on the wall will be updated constantly, while there will remain the static banana leaf picture posted over this public outdoor television by some industrious banana leaf art entrepreneur.