Zanzibar

I first visited Zanzibar in 2000. At that time there were only three resorts — two Italian and one British — and I was still shooting on film. Of course, today Zanzibar is unrecognizable: the entire coastline has been built up, hundreds of mosques have appeared, and the island has become rather bleak.

There is little wildlife left due to heavy urbanization. There is only one national park, home to the Zanzibar red colobus — an endemic species of Zanzibar. Zanzibar has long become a destination for Italian female sex tourism. Disguised “Maasai” walk along the beaches offering their services. You sit in the morning at breakfast in a bungalow, while a pair of middle-school teachers from Sardinia passionately discuss the previous night and complain about having to return home.