Zanzibar is definitely raking in the tourists with its
all-inclusive beach resorts, but it's worth a visit for history as well. On the night before my flight home, I spent one night in a piece of its past: the
Tembo House Hotel (top left). The building once housed the American consulate, which made me wonder what was located in my extravagant bathroom; it was a little too generous to be a visa window (top right). On the balcony, I imagined a friendly nod to Gandhi, who stayed there after it became a large Indian trading house (bottom left). The restoration to re-enact colonial times left me feeling a bit conflicted, but it sure was beautiful (bottom right).
The hotel also includes a bit of modern history. It has turned an adjacent building, the
Freddy Mercury House, into an exclusive apartment accommodation (top). The family of Mercury, who was born in Stone Town, would return to this house for vacation after they fled to England during the Zanzibar Revolution. The building has an imposing entrance, but it's tame compared to the other famous
doors of Stone Town (bottom left). During a tour, our guide showed how to recognize whether they were of Indian or Arabic origin; hint: it's all in the script (bottom right).
Stone Town's
architecture, in general, has earned it designation as a
UNESCO World Heritage Site (top left). With that as a tourist draw, lots of investment is being put into renovations of buildings, such as the icicle facade of the
Old Dispensary (top right). The city
almost lost its designation when the
Mambo Msiige became part of the
Park Hyatt (bottom). UNESCO doesn't look kindly on historical places being co-opted as commercial properties, but it relented in the face of a multitude of significant sites. Mambo Msiige means "do not copy do not imitate," the Omani builder's message to other palace owners. Later, it was converted to a hospital, where David Livingstone's body was brought on its way back to England.
In
Christ Church hangs a cross made from the wood of the tree under which Livingstone's heart is said to be buried (top left). The church was deliberately built on the former
Slave Market Site in Stone Town, not long after slavery was outlawed (top right). Just a few steps and stairs from the chapel is an underground holding cell (bottom left). The church complex also includes a museum and memorial about slavery, which sadly continued for many years even after it became illegal (bottom right).
Nowadays, there is no institutionalized servitude, but vendors slave away at
Darajani Market, home to covered stone stalls for meat (top left) and makeshift seafood corners (top right). The area is a bit rank, especially considering the limited refrigeration and hot weather, but smells from spices and other products, such as drying flowers (bottom left), counteract some of the odor. And fresh sugar-cane juice, mixed with ginger and lime, is a good antidote to the heat (bottom right).
Juice vendors feature prominently at the nightly
Forodhani Food Market (top left). Hawkers have on offer many culinary delights, like shwarma and bhajis, but most stands display a variety of raw items available to be cooked to order (top right). I skipped the BBQ and selected a
Zanzibar pizza, which was grilled before my eyes (bottom left). Then all eyes were on me -- by the local litter of cats, at least -- as I sat on a nearby bench to eat it (bottom right).
Food is just one indication of the cultures that have melded in Zanzibar over the years, including, for starters, traders from across the Indian Ocean. I was super happy that my hotel's breakfast buffet included a variety of Indian dishes like samosas and aloo matar (top left). It had been so long since I had proper-spicy Indian cuisine that I double-downed with some curry for lunch at
Lazuli Cafe (top right). The menu at
Swahili House wasn't Indian-oriented, but Bollywood music played in the elevator to the rooftop bar, where I enjoyed a perfect panorama of the city (bottom left) and a colorful cocktail (bottom right).
The archipelago, but not mainland Tanzania, was once a sultanate of Oman, whose influence can be seen in their extravagant constructions. The
Palace Museum offers amazing views of the ocean (top left), but it's not too shabby inside, considering it used to be a palace (top right). As a museum it contains various artifacts, including a cannon gift from the United States, but I liked the portable washroom, which the ruling class would use during safaris (bottom left). Right next door sits another Omani palace, called the
House of Wonders because it was the first building on the island to have electricity (bottom right).
The first occupier of Zanzibar, however, was Portugal, after Vasco de Gama visited at the end of the 15th century. During the two centuries the island remained in Portuguese possession, they built structures like the
Old Fort to protect their other interests on the east coast of Africa (top left). Other remaining ruins include an amphitheater, which had recently been used for an open-air break-dancing competition (top right), and an arch still standing down the road from the
High Court, another architectural delight (bottom).
But the most ancient and perhaps most enduring contributions to Zanzibar culture are from the Arabian Peninsula and Persia. Although a sultan contracted Iranians to build the
Hamamni Persian Baths in the 19th century, their ancestors likely once visited similar community pools in Stone Town (left). They and their Yemeni compatriots left a lasting religious legacy. Multiple mosque towers rise above the compact downtown, rivaled only by the sole spire of
St. Joseph's Cathedral (right).
Right before independence, Zanzibar was a British protectorate. But despite that, tea never took over as the preferred tipple. Coffee became even more popular when farmers from mainland Africa brought their arabica beans to town, opening outlets like
Zanzibar Coffee House (top left). Coffee is grown on the island, but plantations near Arusha provide most of the product for Stone Town cafes (top right). After a sweaty walk around town, an espresso didn't sound enticing, but an iced latte accompanied by the breeze of a rooftop cafe sure did (bottom).
But let's be honest, most of the time, when I stopped to hydrate, a lager was at the top of my list. At
Travellers Cafe, I took a load off with a
Serengeti Lager (top left) while I watched locals play pickup soccer on the sand below (top right). Another night, I put down a
Kilimanjaro Lager at
Tatu Pub (bottom left) before I headed to the nearby beach to take in a hazy sunset (bottom right).
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