DAR ES SALAAM, March 27 -- CITIES, like people, are not defined by their pandemonium alone.

Of course, some are loud and flamboyant, strutting about in glass towers as though permanently late for a very important meeting. Others are more reflective.

The sort that leans back, sip something strong and murmur, “My friend in our time, things were done properly.” And right there, somewhere between Dars daily theatre and its selective memory, stands a character that belongs firmly to that second category.

Motel Agip. You could pass it without noticing. Many do. It does not wave, it does not shout, it does not even attempt to compete with its shinier neighbours. It simply exists. Quietly. Patiently. Almost suspiciously calm.

Not ...