Lake Tanganyika is Africa's second largest lake and also the deepest in the heart of the Great Rift Valley. Burton and Speeke travelled its banks while searching for the source of the Nile River. The encounter between Livingstone and Stanley also took place here, where the famous phrase ‘Doctor Livingstone I presume’ was uttered. However, the waters of this lake hold another part of Africa's history. The MV Liemba, built in Germany in 1913, disassembled in Dar Es Salaam and transported by rail to Kigoma, reassembled and put to work on the lake. She was sunk during the First World War then salvaged by the British in 1924. Since then, like a ‘phoenix’ risen from the ashes, she is the only means of transportation which guarantees a ferry service for people and goods on the lake and is probably the oldest boat still in service in the world.
