JAW'S CORNER: ZANZIBAR MEETING PLACE A UNIQUE JAWS TRIBUTE

Martha’s Vineyard, where Jaws was filmed. Universal Studios, the home of Jaws and The Jaws Ride. The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, where a freshly restored Bruce the shark now resides. These are among the places likely on your list of Jaws related places to visit at least once in your lifetime.

However, there is one more place you may want to add to that list… Jaw’s Corner in Zanzibar.

Within the footpaths and Vespa lanes that maze through Stone Town, Zanzibar, is a courtyard where two lanes collide into an intersection, opening up into a small gathering space.

Jaw’s Corner is a unique square where locals gather in the early morning to socialize over cups of black Zanzibar coffee. Just grab a cup, and listen to the stories of locals.

Jaw’s corner came to be when an elderly gentleman set up an impromptu coffee stall, and the junction, where four of Zanzibar's winding alleys converge, has become a meeting place for locals and tourists on the island.

Stone Town is a city of prominent historical and artistic importance in East Africa. Its architecture, mostly dating back to the 19th century, reflects the diverse influences underlying the Swahili culture, giving a unique mixture of Arab, Persian, Indian and European elements. For this reason, the town was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000.

The coffee is brewed is two stainless steel kettles over a small charcoal stove. It's drank in the small handle-less porcelain cups.

While sipping the coffee, sit back and watch the seemingly endless flow of pedestrians, bicycles and motorbikes move through the courtyard. Local men sit around the edge of the square debating everything from Somalia, to the Champions League final, to the Zanzibari quest for freedom and why they didn’t take Hooper’s boat. Okay, maybe not the last one.

When you are done, your coffee cup will be washed clean in fresh rainwater collected from an overflowing gutter that runs from the roofs of one of the surrounding dilapidated buildings, complete with rusty roofs, and rotting shutters hanging ajar on the last hinge.

The one big question I’ve not been able to answer is how did this amazing place come to be named ‘Jaw’s Corner’? If you know the answer, please e-mail me at mail@thedailyjaws.com.

Words by Ross Williams

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