Zanzibar: Stone Town

We didn't spend much time in the main town, but we did manage to drag Sascha away from the beach for one afternoon. I stayed on into the evening, exploring the maze of small alleys filled with people, bikes, motorbikes, carts, shops and occasional tourists. Zanzibar is 95% muslim, so it is essential to be dressed modestly. The people were very friendly and I always found men (the women tend to avoid contact in the streets) willing to help me when I got lost, which was essentially every time I tried to cross through the town.The influence in the architecture is a mixture of Arab, Indian, Persian, European and African.

In the palace of the Sultans that used to rule Zanzibar.

A traveling wash closet. It closes up into a large case.

Zanzibar is famous for the wooden carved doors all throughout the town. The brass studs are Indian influence - they were supposed to deter elephants from knocking down the doors. But, no elephants on Zanzibar........

The old fort built by the Portugese

Streets of Stone Town

Door of the Anglican Church in Stone Town which was built on the site of the largest slave market in Zanzibar. In fact, the abolition of slavery is connected with the English taking over control of Zanzibar from the Arabs.

These are the cells they kept the slaves in before bringing them out to the market to be sold. This one had 75 people in it.

They kept up to 50 slaves in this cell. The windows were all the size of the one in the middle.

The alter of the Anglican church is built on the whipping post (faint circle on the floor) where the slaves were whipped to test them before the buyers for strength and endurance. Those that didn't cry out got the best price.

Monument to the slaves

The chains are the original chains used.

Sunset in Stone Town

The Eid celebration starts at sundown. Everyone gets dressed up and comes down to the beach and main harbor-side park to picnic. Boys were doing acrobatics in the sand. Kids were everywhere.

Just before sundown, food stalls appeared in the park selling grilled meats, Zanzibar pancakes, fruit, candies, etc.

I settled on a pancake with nutella and mango. The dough has yeast, so it is more like fried bread with a filling. Fillings were anything from meat to sweet things. It turned out that I overpaid for my pancake and the guy came running after me to return the extra 100 shillings (worth maybe 20 cents), somehow finding me among the crowd in the dark. I'm not sure that would have happened in Kenya.