Zanzibar has changed much since we were here nearly 50 years ago. Much of the old charm has gone, and has been replaced by tourist souvenir shops, restaurants and hotels. For me, the town no longer had the charm of an old Arab trading town, and had become just another tourist city.
Stone Town is the old part of Zanzibar. Former capital of the Zanzibar Sultanate, and flourishing centre of the spice trade as well as the slave trade in the 19th century, it retained its importance as the main city of Zanzibar during the period of the British protectorate.
When Tanganyika and Zanzibar joined each other to form the United Republic of Tanzania, Zanzibar kept a semi-autonomous status, with Stone Town as its local government seat. Stone Town is a city of prominent historical and artistic importance in East Africa. Its architecture, mostly dating back to the 19th century, reflects the diverse influences underlying the Swahili culture, giving a unique mixture of Arab, Persian, Indian and European elements. For this reason, the town was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000. Due to its heritage, Stone Town is also a major visitor attraction in Tanzania, and a large part of its economy depends on tourism-related activities.
The heart of Stone Town consists of a maze of narrow alleys lined by houses, shops, bazaars and mosques. Since most streets are too narrow for cars, the town is crowded with bicycles and motorbikes. The seafront has wider streets and larger, more regularly placed buildings. Stone Town's architecture has a number of distinctive features, as a result of Arab, Persian, Indian, European, and African traditions mixing together.
The name "Stone Town" comes from the use of coral stone as the main construction material; this stone gives the town a characteristic, reddish warm colour.. The most well-known feature of Zanzibari houses are the finely decorated wooden doors, with rich carvings and bas-reliefs, sometimes with big brass studs of Indian tradition. I found it difficult today to find many of these traditional doors, which were a vivid memory from our previous visit. Two main types of doors can be distinguished: those of Indian style have rounded tops, while those in the Omani Arab style are rectangular. Carvings are often Islamic in content (for example, many consist of verses of the Qur'an), but other symbolism is occasionally used, e.g., Indian lotus flowers as emblems of prosperity.
Stone Town is punctuated with major historical buildings, several of which are found on the seafront; these include former palaces of the sultans, fortifications, churches, mosques, and other institutional buildings.
Click on any of the thumbnails to get a bigger version of the picture
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
In the last decades of the19th century, the Sultans of Zanzibar gradually lost their possessions in mainland East Africa to the German Empire and the United Kingdom. In 1890, with the Heligoland-Zanzibar Treaty, Zanzibar itself became a British protectorate.
In 1896, a sudden rebellion of the Zanzibari Omanis against the British rule led to the Anglo-Zanzibar War, which is remembered in Zanzibar as the shortest war in history: the Sultan surrendered after 45 minutes of naval bombardment of Stone Town by the Royal Navy. The immediate cause of the war was the death of the pro-British Sultan Hamad bin Thuwaini on 25 August 1896 and the subsequent succession of Sultan Khalid bin Barghash. The British authorities preferred Hamud bin Muhammed, who was more favourable to British interests, as sultan. In accordance with a treaty signed in 1886, a condition for accession to the sultanate was that the candidate obtain the permission of the British consul, and Khalid had not fulfilled this requirement.
The British considered this a casus belli and sent an ultimatum to Khalid demanding that he order his forces to stand down and leave the palace. In response, Khalid called up his palace guard and barricaded himself inside the palace. The ultimatum expired at 09:00 East Africa Time (EAT) on 27 August, by which time the British had gathered three cruisers, two gunboats, 150 marines and sailors, and 900 Zanzibaris in the harbour area. The Royal Navy contingent were under the command of Rear-Admiral Harry Rawson while their Zanzibaris were commanded by Brigadier-General Lloyd Mathews of the Zanzibar army (who was also the First Minister of Zanzibar). Around 2,800 Zanzibaris defended the palace; most were recruited from the civilian population, but they also included the sultan's palace guard and several hundred of his servants and slaves. The defenders had several artillery pieces and machine guns, which were set in front of the palace sighted at the British ships. A bombardment, opened at 09:02, set the palace on fire and disabled the defending artillery. A small naval action took place, with the British sinking the Zanzibari royal yacht HHS Glasgow and two smaller vessels, and some shots were fired ineffectually at the pro-British Zanzibari troops as they approached the palace. The flag at the palace was shot down and fire ceased at 09:40. The sultan's forces sustained roughly 500 casualties, while only one British sailor was injured. Sultan Khalid received asylum in the German consulate before escaping to German East Africa (in the mainland part of present Tanzania). The British quickly placed Sultan Hamud in power at the head of a puppet government. The war marked the end of the Zanzibar Sultanate as a sovereign state and the start of a period of heavy British influence.
The badly damaged palace complex was completely changed by the war. The harem, lighthouse and palace were demolished as the bombardment had left them unsafe. The palace site became an area of gardens, while a new palace was erected on the site of the harem. The House of Wonders was almost undamaged and would later become the main secretariat for the British governing authorities. During renovation work on the House of Wonders in 1897, a clocktower was added to its frontage to replace the lighthouse lost to the shelling. The wreck of the Glasgow remained in the harbour in front of the palace, where the shallow waters ensured that her masts would remain visible for several years to come; it was eventually broken up for scrap in 1912.
The German navy returned to Zanzibar in 1914. The biggest threat to the Royal Navy in the Indian Ocean was the German light cruiser Königsberg, based at Dar es Salaam. On 31 July 1914, HMS Pegasus sighted Königsberg leaving Dar es Salaam, but was unable to keep track of the faster German cruiser. The British Admiral recognised that Königsberg outclassed Pegasus and intended that Pegasus should operate with the cruiser Astraea while his flagship Hyacinth operated independently to protect the trade routes around the Cape, but on 12 August, the Admiralty ordered Astraea to join Hyacinth off the Cape to escort troop convoys, leaving Pegasus unsupported at Zanzibar.
On 18 September 1914 Pegasus returned to Zanzibar harbour to carry out repairs to her engines. In the early morning of 20 September Königsberg launched a surprise attack on Pegasus. Pegasus's engines were shut down to allow the repairs, and outranged and outgunned, was incapacitated within eight minutes, and the captain — Commander Ingles — struck the colours to avoid further bloodshed. The ship sank later that day, with 31 lives lost and 55 wounded. Pegasus sank, and six of the eight guns were salvaged and two were used in the land campaign until 1916. Of the other four, two remained in Zanzibar, one was mounted on board the lake steamer Winifred, and the last mounted at Mombassa where it survives to this day outside Fort Jesus museum. The wreck was sold in 1955 for £500 and broken up for scrap, although large amounts of debris still remain on the seabed. The British made several attempts to sink Königsberg, eventually succeeding in July 1915
During the period of British protection, the Sultan still retained some power and Stone Town remained a relatively important trading centre for the informal trade. Though the town previously had a small railway the British constructed a railway from the Town to Bububu village. The British did not fund major developments in the town and allowed the sultan to manage the islands affairs from stone town. The British gave privileges to Mombassa and Dar es Salaam as their trading stations in East Africa.
In 1964, Stone Town was the scene of the Zanzibar Revolution that caused the removal of the sultan and the birth of a socialist government led by the Afro-Shirazi Party (ASP). Over 20,000 people were killed and refugees, especially Arabs and Indians, escaped the island as a consequence of the revolution. The Arabs and Indians left behind everything they had and the ASP quickly occupied old homes and converted them into public buildings. In 1964 when Tanganyika and Zanzibar combined to form Tanzania, Stone Town kept its role as a capital and government seat for Zanzibar, which was declared to be a semi-autonomous part of the new nation.
Click on any of the thumbnails to get a bigger version of the picture
 |
 |
 |
 |
House of Wonders
It is one of six palaces built by Barghash bin Said, second Sultan of Zanzibar, and it is said to be located on the site of the 17th-century palace of Zanzibari queen Fatuma. The House of Wonders housed the Museum of History and Culture of Zanzibar and the Swahili Coast. In November 2012, a large corner of the House of Wonders collapsed, taking with it several historic iron pillars and threatening the structural integrity of the building and its façade.The House of Wonders is now closed due to disrepair. The Museum has moved to another location.
In front of the building once stood a lighthouse which was destroyed during the Anglo-Zanzibar War of 27 August 1896. This brief war also destroyed the Beit al-Hukum Palace and severely damaged the Beit al-Sahel Palace. The House of Wonders suffered only minor damages. During reconstruction in 1897 a new clock tower was integrated into the facade of the building. Beit al-Hukum was not rebuilt; its location was transformed into a garden, increasing the visual dominance of the House of Wonders.
The House of Wonders was only fully occupied by the Sultan and his harem after the bombardment. In 1911 it was transformed into government offices and as the main secretariat for the British governing authorities. After the Zanzibar Revolution of 1964 it was converted into a school and a museum for the ruling Afro-Shirazi Party with North Korean aid. In 1992–1994 museum development was initiated. Today it serves as a museum and it was one of Stone Town's major tourist attractions.
Click on any of the thumbnails to get a bigger version of the picture
 |
 |
 |
 |
The Floating Restaurant
It is not floating but is on a pier out from the main promenade. Its not a gourmet food restaurant, more a cafe. But it is is a very pleasant place to sit in the shade and enjoy a cold beer
The views out over the harbour are spectacular, and you can watch the progress of the dhows in and out of the harbour. Service and prices are what you would expect from a tourist joint in a high profile location.
We enjoyed the break from the heat and clamour of the streets of Zanzibar.
Click on any of the thumbnails to get a bigger version of the picture
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
It was a very tired Chris that got back to the ship, and collapsed with a sundowner
 |
 |