Zanzibar Town - not only Stone Town
by call_me_rhia
Zanzibar town (from the Persian Zendji-Bar, which means 'land of blacks') has a "romantic, colourful history of seafarers and explorers, of riches and tragedy, and the dark stain of slavery" - I so wished that these were my words.
In the past it was the most important trading centre of East Africa and a real Babel of people and languages: Sumerians, Assyrians, Phoenicians, Arabs, Chinese, Malays... they all passsed through here. At some point it seems that it also was the Omani capital.
The city of Zanzibar consists of two areas - Stone Town and Ngambo, with Stone Town being the part of the city of tourist interest: narrow twisting alleys adorned with beautiful old carved doors, coral stone buildings, crumbling stone walls and dark corners - and a perpetual scent of spices.
Finally, and sadly, the slave trade, which lasted for over 60 years and saw 10000-40000 slaves being sold every year. A dark moment in history. under construction
North Coast
by Bregman
No visit to Zanzibar is complete without a visit to the beach. You may choose to stay several days in one of the many hotels and resort on one the many beaches of the islands, or you may stay in Stonetown and make a day trip to the beach.
Waterfront
by sachara
In Stone Town you can make also a walk along the waterfront. Allthough there is most of the time a seabreeze it can be extremely hot during day-time.
But being around you can always choose to look for shade in one of the museums or historical buildings. At lunchtime we often choose to sit in a roofed open-air bar of restaurant at the waterfront, like here at Mercury's with a great view at the ocean, the beach and the historical buildings.
The doors of Stone Town
by sachara
In the 19th century the doors and doorframes became the favoured means of expression the grandeur of one's mansion. The elaborately carved Zanzibar doors in the white-washed walls became the most important feature of the external appearance of the house. Its quality and size were a mark of status and wealth of the owner.
In Zanzibar are 277 such doors, the largest concentration along the Swahili Coast, allthough they were diminishing, sold to tourists and hotels. Strolling in the alleyways of Stone Town and looking out for these treasures of decoration.
Freddy Mercury
by sachara
At the 5th of September 1946 Farok Bulsara was born in Stone town to a family of wealthy Zoroastrian Parsee immigrants from India.
Farok Bulsara is better known in the world as Freddie Mercury, the flamboyant singer of the rock group Queen. Farok left the island at the age of nine for a boardig school in India and never returned to Zanzibar. Freddie Mercury died on the 24th of November 1991.
Various houses in the Shangani part of the town claim, that Freddie lived there. The most likely is the building on Kenyatta Road of the closed Camlurs Restaurant. Another place to go is is Mercury's restaurant at the Mizingani Road, opposite the Big Tree. Here you can get some more information or buy a T-shirt.
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Shopping
Dala-dala
The Palace
Zanzibar Door
