Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ised backwards 'S' represents the smoke of frankincense and signifies wealth.
Some doors have large brass spikes, which are a tradition from India, where
spikes protected doors from being battered down by elephants.
Beit el-Sahel (Palace Museum)
MUSEUM
(Mizingani Rd; adult/child US$4/1; 9am-6pm) Just north of the Beit el-Ajaib is this
palace, which served as the sultan's residence until 1964, when the dynasty was over-
thrown. Now it is a museum devoted to the era of the Zanzibar sultanate.
The ground floor displays details of the formative period of the sultanate from 1828
to 1870, during which commercial treaties were signed between Zanzibar and the USA
(1833), Britain (1839), France (1844) and the Hanseatic Republics (1859). There is also
memorabilia of Princess Salme, a Zanzibari princess who eloped with a German to Europe
and later wrote an autobiography. The exhibits on the 2nd floor focus on the period of afflu-
ence from 1870 to 1896, during which modern amenities such as piped water and electricity
were introduced to Zanzibar under Sultan Barghash. The 3rd floor consists of the modest
living quarters of the last sultan, Khalifa bin Haroub (1911-60), and his two wives, each of
whom clearly had very different tastes in furniture. Outside is the Makusurani graveyard,
where some of the sultans are buried.
Old Fort
HISTORIC BUILDING
Just south of the Beit el-Ajaib is the Old Fort, a massive, bastioned structure originally
built around 1700 on the site of a Portuguese chapel by Omani Arabs as a defence against
the Portuguese. In recent years it has been partially renovated to house the Zanzibar Cul-
tural Centre and the offices of the Zanzibar International Film Festival (ZIFF). Inside, an
open-air theatre hosts music and dance performances. There's also a helpful tourist inform-
ation desk that arranges tours and has schedules for performances, and a restaurant. The
tree growing inside the fort, in front of the cafe, is known in Swahili as
mwarobaini
('the
tree of 40') because its leaves, bark and other parts are used to cure up to 40 different ail-
ments.
Anglican Cathedral & Old Slave Market
HISTORIC BUILDING
(admission Tsh5000; 8am-6pm Mon-Sat, noon-6pm Sun) Constructed in the 1870s by
the Universities' Mission to Central Africa (UMCA), this was the first Anglican cathedral
in East Africa. It was built on the site of the old slave market alongside Creek Rd. Although
nothing remains of the slave market today, other than some holding cells under St Monica's
Hostel next door, the site is a sobering reminder of the not-so-distant past. Services are still
held at the cathedral on Sunday mornings; the entrance is next to St Monica's Hostel.
