Zanzibar
Zanzibar Town
The origins of the legendary island capital-so goes the cliche -are lost in the mists of time. The ancient Phoenicians, Assyrians and Greeks all knew this coastline and recognized the strategic importance of Zanzibar for trade. A new civilization developed with the emergence of Islam; Persians migrated here in the 10th century and the island became a crossroads between black Africa and Arabia-one of the cradles of the Swahili culture that still predominates today along the coast of East Africa. The Portuguese, on their way to India, tried to impose Christianity, but their efforts were in vain. They left in their wake only a few ruins and, surprisingly, a passion for bull running, which has survived on Pemba island. The Omanis came, saw and conquered, and their sultan made Zanzibar his capital. He introduced clove cultivation and encouraged the slave trade, making his jewel of a city the most prosperous port of the east coast.
Towards the end of the 19th century, European influence increased and plots and intrigues weakened the power of the sultanate. Britain took advantage of the situation to abolish slavery, sounding the knell on the island's decadent splendour.
In December 1963, a brief spell of independence transformed Zanzibar into a nation in its own right. A short-lived statute (the sultan was overthrown the following month) confirmed the island's special identity, before it was merged with Tanganyika. Later, in 1993, as if to reassert that difference, Zanzibar secretly joined the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, contrary to the constitution of a secular state. It later withdrew its membership, but some still dream of a referendum which could free the island of Tanzanian control.
Rather than the present or the future, it's the fading memories of Zanzibar's past that fascinate today's visitors. For historical remains Zanzibar is unsurpassed. Walking its streets is like leafing through A Thousand and One Nights, with reminders of days gone by looming round every corner. The old town and indeed the whole island are protected by UNESCO, which has listed them as one of the 100 major sites of mankind, and the tumbledown buildings are gradually being restored.
Begin your tour at the sea-front. The impressive building known as People's Palace, with its white facade, was the sultan's residence from 1896 until his overthrow in 1964. It has been transformed into a museum illustrating the island's history and the sultan's opulent lifestyle. Near at hand, also facing the harbour, is the four-storey Beit el-Ajaib, the "House of Wonder". The tallest building in town, today used by the government, it was designed by a marine engineer for Sultan Sayed. It was completed in 1883, and the sultan lived there until his palace was constructed. The two bronze cannon which guard it are Portuguese and date from the mid-16th century. The doors are particularly fine, carved with verses from the Koran. Also close by, but set back from the seafront, the crenellated fort was built in the 18th century by the Omanis and subsequently enjoyed a mixed career as a barracks, then a prison, slave quarters and finally as a repair shop for the Bububu railway.
A tangle of winding lanes and tiny squares meander past the dilapidated walls of ancient houses made of coral, their massive teak doors elaborately sculpted with geometrical designs. Don't be afraid to lose your way in the labyrinth of the old Stone Town: nowhere else can the soul of the city be so strongly felt. Spicy aromas escape through heavy doors that stand slightly ajar; the voice of the muezzin wafts around the corners of dank, narrow alleys, calling the faithful to prayer. There are more than 50 mosques.
With luck you'll come across the market, where the island's products are heaped in piles on the ground. The surrounding streets are the tailors' domain. Sooner or later you will reach one of the main roads. Creek Road, to the east, marks the boundary of the old town. Of the infamous slave market, only two minute cells in the basement of an old house remain. The slaves were crammed in here-bent double because the roof was too low for them to stand upright-before being sold on the site where the Anglican Cathedral (UCMA) now stands. When the decree abolishing slavery was signed in 1873, the religious mission bought the land. The church first served both Christian and Muslim communities. Catholic St Joseph's Cathedral was built in 1896 on the plans of a French architect. The Turkish baths have been closed since 1920, but you can still have a peek inside, as long as you give the caretaker a reasonable tip.
On the southern edge of Stone Town, the National Museum displays a few souvenirs of East Africa's 19th-century explorers, mainly Livingstone, various documents from slave-trading times and, in a separate building, a natural history collection. It's worth poring over the collection of turn-of-the-century photographs to see what Zanzibar looked like in days of yore. Ask the caretaker to show you the oldest carved door in Zanzibar (1694) which is in the neighbourhood.
Going out of town to the north, you pass Livingstone's House, lent to him by Sultan Majid bin Said as a base for his expeditions. The Tourist Office is now installed here. About a kilometre away, the dhow harbour is still visited by many sailing craft. You will see all kinds of merchandise being discharged and cloves and copra being loaded.
