Zanzibar on the Dry Side - Day 2 - Stone Town

 April 9, 2024

Zanzibar on the dry side ... Stone Town

Our trip today was a quick bus trip around the town to see the history here ... mainly Stone Town which is the old part of the city of Zanzibar. Our tour was led by a great guide, Abdul.  The whole town is considered a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to the diverse influences of the Arab, Persian, Indian and European elements.  This mixture of cultures is rooted deeply from an unhappy story. Unfortunately, much of the history involved slave trade.  Zanzibar was the main slave market in eastern Africa based on its location in the Indian Ocean.  It is estimated that as many as 600,000 people were sold here with destinations like India, Middle Eastern countries, Persia, etc.  Officially, slave trade ended around 1873 but because it was such a large part of the economy and so deeply rooted here, it actually went on for much longer secretly.  Some say as far as into the 1990’s. 

Ironically, the Anglican Church, Christ Church Cathedral, is on the site where the slave trade flourished.   The site of the cross is on the same spot where the old whipping post was.  This post was used to display how strong or weak a particular slave was.  If they could take the beating, they were more valuable.  In the bottom of the church were concrete pits that housed slaves temporarily before sale.  These chambers were beyond crowded, and conditions were horrendous.  Many died there before even being sold.  How utterly barbaric and evil man can be.  Enough of that.

A trip to the market where you can lose your appetite for meat and the fruit market where you see some very strange looking fruits, vegetables , spices and finally cashews, followed by a walk down the narrow streets led us to the Freddy Mercury Museum.   Freddy, born Farrokh Bulsara, was born in Zanzibar but lived there only a short time.  After doing poorly in school, he went to England and the rest lives in history. 

As we make our way down the narrow streets of Stone Town, which are shared by bikes, scooters and pedestrians alike, you cannot help but notice the very large, very ornate doors.  Back in the day, elephants were used in war time much like a horse.  They would make the elephant break down doors in order to gain entrance.  Well, it didn’t take long before they started putting pointed spear-like barbs to try and keep the elephants from successfully ramming the door down. Looks like it would be hard on the large pachyderms.  But the doors are beautiful in their own right. 

A quick stop at a local hotel for a refreshment (Kilimanjaro beer for me and ginger beer for Vi) and then we tried to head back to the pier.   

To say that traffic is bad is a little misleading.  I think every Tom, Dick and Harry was out and about.  It was the last day of Ramadan, and everyone was preparing to celebrate one way or another.  It was a short day today and when we finally got back to the ship, we said our goodbyes to Zanzibar and Tanzania with a nice sail away.  Up next is a one day stop in Maputo, Mozambique.   

In a million years I would never have guessed that Vialula and I would be going to the Orient, seeing southeast Asia, feeding elephants in Sri Lanka and now be exploring Africa.  Can you say blessed? Keep reading and try to forgive the poor grammar and useless info I throw out.   The pictures tell the story much better than I can.

LeRoy and Vi