Stone Town - Zanzibar

After four nights on Matemwe beach we headed to Stone Town where we spent two nights and got to experience more of the cultural and historical aspects of Zanzibar.

                       

Zanzibar was a vital trading point where Africa, India and Arabia meet. It was also a port of the notorious slave trade. We actually went to visit the old slave market although there is not much left there today except some holding cells and a monument. The holding cells are where the slaves were kept before being sold at the market. The island became known for supplying slaves, gold, ivory and wood to many distant places. In return, the island imported a lot of spices and textiles. In 1832 the first sultan of Zanzibar moved his court from Oman to Zanzibar and this is when Stone Town really came into being. He built up an empire of spice plantations and palaces. Zanzibar became independent on December 10th 1963 and within a month after independence the island became part of Tanzania mainland forming the United Republic of Tanzania.

 

     

      Holding cell & slave monument

      

 

An excerpt from David Livingstone’s writings on the slave trade: “The strangest disease I have seen in this country seems really to be broken heartedness, and it attacks free men who have been captured and made slaves."

 

   Cat inside the Anglican Cathedral :)                          The Old Fort

While we were there we stayed at the beautiful Dhow Palace Hotel. Stone Town is located on the west coast of Zanzibar and also has some white sandy beaches surrounding it. The city has many small streets with lots of shops. If we hadn’t had a guided tour of the city once we got there I think it would have been really easy to get lost! I loved all the little shops which were filled with lots of beautiful bags, clothes, jewelry, textiles, spices and paintings. I bought a new bag, scarf, shorts and a beautiful painting. I also managed to find some great presents :)

                       

 

While we were there my sister and I decided to get a henna tattoo. Sarah got one on her foot and I got one on my hand. It lasts for about 2-3 weeks and it only cost us 3 dollars each!

 

 

   Sippin on a Mojito while watching the beautiful sunset :)

 

 

 

I’m ending this blog with a quote from Lonely Planet describing the atmosphere of Zanzibar: “a place where life’s rhythms are set by the monsoon winds and the cycles of the moon” :)