Yesterday morning we departed from Arusha at 9:30 and headed for Dodoma, the capital city of Tanzania. We traveled approximately 260 miles and it took us 6 1/2 hours. The roads were good but they were 2 lanes with some passing lanes every so often. From the outskirts of Arusha to the outskirts of Dodoma there was very little traffic but the highway went through many small villages and the speed limit was 30 mph in every village so while we could go 75 mph outside of the villages, we lost a lot of time poking along for a mile or two while passing through the villages. Every once in a while you would see a "Cattle Crossing" sign. One time we encountered cattle crossing the highway:
Over the last four or so years Dodoma has gone and is going through a rapid transition. In 1974 the leaders made the decision that they would move the capital from Dar es Salaam on the coast to the center of the country and Dodoma was chosen as the site. Not much happened for about 40 years or so. Most of the government departments and offices stayed in Dar. A previous president of the country gave the order that all of the government would move to Dodoma by a certain deadline. This has happened and is happening. I was here in 2019 and the amount of new construction is amazing. The population has exploded and so have prices. Rents have tripled and many of the people who lived in Dodoma can no longer afford to live here and so have moved out to find more afforadable housing.
Tomorrow we prepare for the marriage workshop that will be all day Thursday and Friday. We will stay in Dodoma Saturday so I will be able to do some couples counseling for any couples who would like to meet with me. We will then head back to Arusha on Sunday.
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