In the run up to our Easter Holiday (Vacation) trip to Uganda I wanted to try and complete the remaining Zanzibar Retrospectives so here is Stone Town. We stayed here for three days at the end of our time in Zanzibar.
Dhow Palace Hotel
Our base in the city – complete with it’s own pool built in the centre of the hotel courtyard. We were staying in Room 101 which was an ominous room if you know your literary references – but it was a simple but clean room with air con. wifi and a mosquito net which is all you really needed, plus a small balcony overlooking the pool. Food was rather basic and we only ate breakfast there which was not that great to be honest. The location was absolutely fine and a stones throw from the sea front and the centre of town.
Stone Town Streets
Stone Town is unlike anything else in Tanzania – an old city with a maze of streets. Buildings with ornate doors. Old Forts, Persian Baths, Palaces and Mosques and Churches. The place is aged and a little decrepit – in need of a face lift but intriguing nonetheless.
Sea Front and Forodhani Gardens
The sea front views are superb and a walk along thee front leads to Forodhani Gardens where all manner of goods are sold.
Sultans and Slavery
Zanzibar was a sultanate until the end of the 19th Century. Ruled by Oman the island was sadly a centre of Slavery for East Africa until Britain intervened and forced the Sultan to end it, on the back of reports by David Livingston (explorer) among others. The old slave market was built over and a church erected. There are still memorials to those who suffered.
The Sultan’s Palace was also a place to visit whilst in Stone Town
Stunning Sunsets
The place to go in the evening for a Sundowner is Africa House. We went all three nights in Stone Town and saw some great sunsets – though never caught the sun on the horizon.
