This Book Will Make You Want to Go to Zanzibar
Aline Coquelle
A new electric-blue book from Assouline might just pull you back into hope for travel.
Sometimes these days it can be hard to see an end in sight that will allow us all to visit the world again. So, we daydream about the far-off, and, boy, do those places seem especially far off now. That’s why the latest selection for Just Booked (our series on gorgeous travel-related coffee table books) is Assouline’s Zanzibar.
Put together by photographer Aline Coquelle, it’s an intoxicating window into this archipelago of islands off the coast of East Africa. From the way it sounds to how it looks, Zanzibar has always stirred the imagination of travelers. Yes, you’ve no doubt seen countless shots of beaches in your life—but the photos found within this tome are still mesmerizing—and often captured with the incredible outlines of dhows in the backdrop.
Zanzibar has long been the crossroads of larger powers seeking a hold on this corner of the Indian Ocean, and Coquelle captures the wonderful mix of architecture that decorates these islands as a result. But most of all, the most envy-inducing photos are the ones of people—dancing, eating, and celebrating.