The island of Pemba, known as ‘Al Jazeera Al Khadra’ (the green island) in Arabic, is an island forming part of the Zanzibar archipelago, lying off the east coast of Africa in the Indian Ocean. It is situated about 50 kilometres to the north of the Unguja (the island proper of Zanzibar). In 1964 Zanzibar was united with the former colony of Tanganyika to form Tanzania. It lies 50 kilometres east of mainland Tanzania, across the Pemba Channel. Together with Mafia Island (south of Zanzibar), these three islands form the Spice Islands (not to be confused with the Maluku Islands of Indonesia). In 1988, the estimated population was 265,000, with an area of 980 km².

Most of the island, which is hillier and more fertile than Zanzibar, is dominated by small scale farming. There is large scale farming of cash crops such as cloves — there are over 3 million clove trees.

In previous years the island was seldom visited due to inaccessibility and a reputation for political violence, with the notable exception of those drawn by its reputation as a center for traditional medicineand witchcraft. There is a quite large Arab community on the island who immigrated from Oman. The population is a mix of Arab and original Waswahili inhabitants of the island. A significant potion of the population also identifies as Shirazi people.

photography by jeseper anhede/ www.anhede.se

found on wikipedia.com

No one calls you “sir” or “boss”.
No one gives you a “special price”.
No one plays crappy music they think you’ll like.

The sand grain is so fine it squeakes under your feet. The water is so clear you get a fear of heights snorkeling over the drop outside the shallow reef. The beach is yours and yours alone.
This is barefoot luxury.

- Jesper Anhede

Many parts of the island are not easily accessed, as there is only one metalled road. The rest are often dead-end dirt roads, but while exploring them on your own you might very well find that hidden-away beach you have always dreamt about. Pemba Island has been separated from the mainland and Zanzibar for decades, leaving an untouched and pristine island of great beauty and fertility. The mosaic of forests, swamps, mangroves, hidden beaches and lagoons is scattered with the ruins of mosques and tombs mostly reclaimed by the forest – sites that date back to Arab domination when Pemba Isalnd was seized by the Sultan of Muscat (Oman) in the 17th century. He loved the Spice Islands and established his court in Zanzibar and ruled Muscat from there.

The resort is focused around a large open planned relaxing area that welcomes you to the sea. Life on Pemba revolves around the ocean tides, and as the day progresses you will witness the ever changing colours and shades of blue and green as the tide ebbs and flows.

Photography by Jesper Anhede

Found on  www.anhede.se & www.themantaresort.com

The Maldives lies in two rows of atolls in the Indian Ocean, just across the equator. The country is made up of 1,190 coral islands formed around 26 natural ring-like atolls, spread over 90,000 square kilometers. These atolls structures are formed upon a sharp ridge rising from the ocean, making way for their secluded uniqueness.

Each atoll in the Maldives is made of a coral reef encircling a lagoon, with deep channels dividing the reef ring. A string of islands take their places among this atoll ring; each island has its own reef encircling the island lagoon. The reefs of the islands, alive with countless types of underwater creatures and vibrant corals, protect the islands from wind and wave action of the surrounding vast oceans. This unique structure of reefs and channels makes navigation almost impossible for the passer-by without sufficient information about these waters.

Ninety-nine percent of the Maldives is made up of sea. The people of the islands are widely dispersed across the atolls, with about 200 inhabited islands. About 90 islands are developed as tourist resort and the rest are uninhabited or used for agriculture and other livelihood purposes.

found on visitmaldives.com