East Africa's largest nation, Tanzania is known for numerous natural and human wonders including Mt. Kilimanjaro, the island of Zanzibar, the Serengeti Plain, Mikumi National Park, Lake Victoria, the Great Ruaha Rift, the Maasai and Hehe tribes and perhaps the best safari areas on Earth.
Tanzania's history includes maritime rivalry between Portuguese and Arab traders as well as various European powers. Tanzania was an exotic destination for famous British explorers and later German industrialization as the Germans took Tanzania as a colony. German occupation lasted until the end of World War I when the British stepped in to take over. Tanzania smoothly became independent in 1961 with no tribal conflicts or linguistic divisions to slow the process.
Today, Tanzania is a country of 20 million with more than 100 tribal groups, mostly of Bantu origin. The Arab influence on Zanzibar and Pemba islands is evident in the people, who are a mix of Shirazia (from Persia), Arabs, Comorians (from the Comoros Islands) and Bantu from the mainland. The major non-Bantu people in the Iringa area are the Maasai who inhabit the north-eastern section of the country.
