The Island Stone Town

to its original magnificence. As a re-

Zanzibar is a semi-autonomous part It may not have a particularly roman- sult of sensible policy, nearly all of the
of the United Republic of Tanzania, in tic name, but Stone Town is the old major hotels built in Stone Town are
East Africa. It comprises the Zanzibar city and cultural heart of Zanzibar, housed in renovated buildings. Pic-
Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, 25– little changed in the last 200 years. It tured below is a typical winding alley
50 kilometres (16–31 mi) off the coast is a place of winding alleys, bustling in Stone Town, where it is quite easy
of the mainland, and consists of numer- bazaars, mosques and grand Arab to get lost.
ous small islands and two large ones: houses whose original owners vied
Unguja (the main island, informally with each other over the extrava-
referred to as Zanzibar), and Pemba. gance of their dwellings. This one-up-
Other nearby island countries and ter- manship is particularly reflected in the
ritories include Comoros and Mayotte
The Culture
brass-studded, carved, wooden doors
to the south, Mauritius and Réunion - there are more than 500 different
Zanzibar's local people are an incred-
to the far East, and the Seychelles Is- examples of this handiwork. You can
ible mixture of ethnic backgrounds, in-
lands about 1500km north. Zanzibar spend many idle hours and days just
dicative of her colourful history. Zanzi-
was once a separate state with a long wandering through the fascinating
baris speak Swahili (known locally as
trading history labyrinth of narrow streets and alley-
Kiswahili), a language which is spoken
within the Arab ways.
extensively in East Africa. Many be-
world; it united
lieve that the purest form is spoken
with Tangan- Most of the houses that can be seen
in Zanzibar as it is the birth place of
yika to form today were built in the 19th century
the language. Zanzibar's most famous
Tanzania in when Zanzibar was one of the most
event is the Zanzibar International
1964 and still important trading centres in the Indian
Film Festival, also known as the Fes-
enjoys a high Ocean region. The coraline rock of
tival of the Dhow Countries. Every
degree of au- Zanzibar was a good building mate-
July, this event showcases the best of
tonomy within rial, but it is also easily eroded. This is
the Swahili Coast arts scene, including
the union. The evident by the large number of hous-
Zanzibar's favourite music, Taarab.
capital of Zan- es that are in a bad state of repair.
Important architectural features in
zibar, located Several buildings
Stone Town are the
on the island have already been
Livingstone house,
of Unguja, is renovated and the
the Guliani Bridge,
Zanzibar City, Stone Town Conser-
the House of Won-
and its historic center, known as Stone vation Authority has
ders, and the Per-
Town, is a World Heritage Site. been established to
sian baths.
co-ordinate the res-
toration of the town
 BY AIR
The principal carrier to Zanzibar is
Kenya Airways transit at Nairobi.
Other carriers are Qatar Airline, Ethi-
opian Airline, Air India, South African
Airways, British Airways and KLM
stopping over Dar es Salaam, where
zanzibar you catch a ferry to Zanzibar. There
are also a number of regular charter
flights from Europe travelling directly
tanzania to Zanzibar.
If your air ticket takes you only to Dar
es Salaam, local air carriers such as
Coastal Travel, Zan Air, and Precision
Air all provide scheduled flights in
small twin-engined planes.
BY SEA
Regular ferries operate between Dar
Es Salaam, Zanzibar and Pemba. The
services between Dar es Salaam
culture and Zanzibar range from 75 to 90
minutes and Pemba can take about 3
hours, depending on weather. Time-
tables and prices are displayed on
beaches boards outside each office.
history Mustapha's Nest
PO Box 3414
Bwejuu, Western Coast
Zanzibar Island, Tanzania
spices +255-244-0069
mustaphas@africamail.com
Spice Plantations
The history of Zanzibar would be in-
complete without the cloves, nutmeg,
cinnamon, pepper and many other
spices which brought the Sultans of
Oman and the beginning of the infa-
mous slave trade. They can be seen in
the plantations just outside Zanzibar
town, and a good tour includes oppor-
tunities to dazzle the senses with fresh
spices. A de-
tailed de- It is also home to a family of giant tor-
scription is toises, imported from the Seychelles
given about in the late 19th century. This island is
a variety of ideal for a day-trip with refreshments
spices and available throughout the day. It also
their uses in has a small restaurant where you can
cooking and enjoy freshly caught fish.
cosmetics.
Visitors will be fascinated by the sheer
number of spices produced and their
incredible value for many ailments.
Prison Island
Once the site of a gaol for
misbehaving slaves, the is-
land lies just off the old
Stone Town. It is fringed
with a beautiful coral
reef, ideal for snor-
kelling, and has a
lovely white beach
for sun-bathing.