Zanzibar Historical Sites

MSUKA MJINI RUINS

Msuka Mjini Ruins are located on the kigomasha peninsula and consists of mosque dating back to the 15th century. The inside of circular mirhab (prying showing direction of Mecca) is scratched with the date 816AH (1414AD)

MKAME NDUME / PUJINI RUINS

It is located ten kilometer southeast of Chake Chake. Pujini was official seat of Mohammed bin Abdulrahman who ruled Pemba around 15th century prior to arrival Portugese on the East Coast. Abdulrahman was known Mkame ndume (milker of men) because of his inhuman cruelty and harsh punishment meted out to his people. His citadel was a massive stone built structure surrounded by trench and huge earthern rampart.

RAS MKUMBUU RUINS

Ras Mkumbuu ruins are located to the northwest of the town of Chake Chake.

The ruins mainly date from the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, though there are indications that they were built over older foundations. Notable among these ruins are those of a large mosque which was for some time the largest structure of its type in sub-Saharan Africa.

James Kirkman, the first archeologist to excavate here in the 1950s, proposed to connect his findings with the “Qanbalu” mentioned by the Arab explorer Al-Masud around 900 but could not identify remnants earlier than the 13th century.

MARUHUBI PALACE RUINS

Maruhubi Palace is only 3.7km from Stone town.The palace is named after its former owner, an Arab from the Al-Marhuby tribe.

The palace was built by Sultan Barghash, the third Arab sultan of Zanzibar, between 1880-1882.  Sultan Barghash used the palace to house his wife and up to 100 concubines, while he himself lived in a separate palace in Zanzibar Town.

Maruhubi Palace was destroyed by a fire in 1899, leaving few remains including the large stone columns which had once supported a large wooden balcony that circumnavigated the upper floor. In the old Persian-style bathhouse, the separate bathrooms for the women and the Sultan’s own large bathroom can still be viewed.

The grounds are spotted with shade trees, large lawn areas, and the original water reservoirs now overgrown with water lilies and large mango trees once imported from India.  When viewing, it is not hard to imagine a magical garden where the royal elite would entertain their guests.

Today, the sandy beach behind the palace is used by local fishermen as a sort of informal shipyard, where they build and fix their traditional wooden fishing dhows using only hand tools.

BEIT AL AJAIB

Beit al ajaib or House of wonders or Palace of wonders is a landmark building in Stone town, Zanzibar. It is the Largest and Tallest building of Stone town. It is located between Old fort and the palace Museum. It is one of six palaces built by Baraghash bin Said, the second sultan of Zanzibar in 1883. It was intended as a ceremonial palace and official reception hall, celebrating modernity, and it was named “House of Wonders” because it was the first building in Zanzibar to have electricity, and also the first building in East Africa to have an elevator (lift).

OLD SLAVE MARKET/ ANGLICAN CATHEDRAL

The Cathedral was built in 1873 by Edward Steere, the third Bishop of Zanzibar and famous British abolitionist.  The Cathedral took ten years to build and its strange barrel vault roof was Steere’s own invention.  It still stands strong today despite the local belief at the time of construction that it would never hold.  Bishop Steer died in 1882 and was buried behind the altar.

Outside there is a sombre monument to the memory of the countless number of slaves who passed through the islands’ markets. The life-like stone statues of male and female slaves, attached with iron shackles and chains, stand in a pit symbolising not only their inhumane incarceration but also depth of their despair.

The church was the first Anglican Cathedral to be built in East Africa and is still in use today. Nothing remains of the Slave Market except, beneath the nearby St. Monica’s Hostel.

OLD FORT

The Old fort is also known as the Arab fort in Zanzibar or Ngome Kongwe. It was built by Omani Arabs after expelling the Portuguese in 1699. It was used as a garrison and prison in the 19th century, and as a terminal of the Zanzibar railways 1945-28. A new guardhouse was built in 1947 and used as the ladies’ club, and an amphitheatre was added in the 1990s. It is now the headquarters of the Zanzibar international film festival.

KIZIMKAZI OLD MOSQUE

The Kizimkazi Mosque is believed to be the oldest Islamic building on the East African Coast, and it is still in use today. It is located on the southern tip of the main island of Zanzibar in the village of Kizimkazi – Dimbani. According to the record, it was built in 1107 under the order of Sheikh Said bin Abi Amran Mfaume al Hassan bin Muhammad by settlers from Shiraz, Iran. However, another inscription tells of a major rebuilding of the mosque in 1772-1773. Although much of the coral detailing and column shafts date from the original construction in the twelfth century, the majority of the current structure is from the rebuild in the 18th century. More recently, the east wall of the mosque has been reconstructed and the roof of the mosque has been replaced with one of corrugated metal. Around the mosque are several seventeenth century tombs decorated with pillars.

THE OLD DISPENSARY

The Old Dispensary is also known as Ithanshiri Dispensary. It is located on the seafront, in Mizingani Road, halfway between the Palace Museum and the harbour. It owes its name to the fact that it served as a dispensary in the first half of the 20th century. It was built by a wealthy Ismaili Indian merchant, Tharia Topan, as a charitable hospital for the poor and in order to commemorate the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria.

When he died in 1891, the building was not finished. His widow resumed the works but had to suspend them in 1893 for her budget was exhausted. That same year, as a consequence of a family quarrel, the building was sold off to a new owner, who finally brought it to completion in 1894.

In 1990, as a part of a general plan for the renovation of the historical buildings of Stone Town, the Aga Khan Trust for Culture obtained from the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar the permission to restore the Dispensary. This was completed in April 1994.

FUKUCHANI AND MVULENI RUINS

The Enclosure Houses at Fukuchani and Mvuleni are located about halfway between Mkwajuni and Ras Nungwi on the northern part of the island .These 16th Century coral rag houses, built in stone wall enclosures, represent a group of the finest domestic stone houses of this period.

MANGAPWNANI  CORAL CAVE

The Mangapwani Slave Chamber is about 20 Kilometers North of Stone Town . Zanzibar Slave Chambers that built around 1880 from the cave and connected to the seaside 2kms away. It was an important transit point for the captured slaves to be sold to the outside world at the time of the abolishment of slavery in 1873 especial in the Middle East Between 1880 – 1905, the Slave Chamber was being used as a place of concealment of the human cargo pending their disposal.

The chamber was originally built by Mohammed Bin Nassor Al-Alwi, a prosperous slave trader, to store his slaves. Boats from Bagamoyo on the Tanzania Mainland would unload their human cargo on a secluded beach, separated from the main Mangapwani Beach by coral-rock outcrops. The dirt path from the beach to the Slave Chamber still exists today

This large natural cavern with a freshwater pool was originally used as a source of drinking water for local people.

PRISON RUINS IN ZANZIBAR

Prison Island or Changuu Island or Quarantine Island is a small Island 5.6 km northwest of Stone Town, Unguja, Zanzibar. The island is around 800m long and 230m wide at its broadest point.

The British First Minister of Zanzibar, Lloyd Mathews, purchased the island in 1893 and constructed a prison complex there. No prisoners were ever housed on the island and instead it became a quarantine station for yellow fever cases. The station was only occupied for around half of the year and the rest of the time it was a popular holiday destination. More recently, the island has become a government-owned tourist resort and houses a collection of endangered Aldabra giant tortoises which were originally a gift from the British governor of the Seychelles.

THE FREDDIE MERCURY MUSEUM-ZANZIBAR

The first-ever museum dedicated to the world legend Freddie Mercury, located in Shangani, in the heart of Zanzibar Stone Town, officially inaugurated on Sunday the 24th of November 2019, in order to commemorate the 28th anniversary of the passing of the beloved rock music legend Freddie Mercury.

The Freddie Mercury Museum is officially partnered with Queen Productions Ltd. in the United Kingdom, who have loaned us exclusive pictures of Freddie Mercury throughout different stages in his life. This project aims to showcase a detailed accord of the birth town of Farrokh Bulsara, his roots with the Zoroastrian religion, his childhood and upbringing in Zanzibar, followed by his schooling in Panchgani, India, and then the rest of his journey to becoming one of the greatest stars of all time.

THE SULTAN’S PALACE

The Sultan’s Palace in Arabic word pronounced Bait As-Sahel “بيت الساحل” located in Mizingani Road, on the seafront, between the House of Wonders and the Old Dispensary. Bait As-Sahel was destroyed in the Anglo Zanzibar war of 1896, is one of the main historical buildings of Stone Town, Zanzibar, Tanzania.

The palace was built in late 19th century to serve as a residence for the Sultan’s family. After the Zanzibar Revolution, in 1964 it was formally renamed to People’s Palace and used as a government seat. In 1994, it became a museum about the Zanzibari royal family and history.

KIDICHI PERSIAN BATHS
Kidichi Persian Baths are located about 11km northeast of town on one of the Spice Tour route .Sultan Seyyid Said built them in 1850, for his Persian wife. The Baths are well maintained both inside and out, with some very good example of the domed skylights that allowed light to enter the windowless buildings.
Unfortunately, the bath-house has not been well maintained, and mould grows on much of the beautiful stucco work.  The domed ceiling contains a circle of small windows that used to be stained glass and would cast beautiful light patterns over the white walls.  Today, you can enter the bath-house, and see the changing room, bathing pool and massage tables.

CHUINI PALACE RUINS

Chuini palace ruins is about 10km north of Zanzibar Town, on the coast near the village of Chuini, lie the ruins of Chuini Palace. (Chuini means ‘place of the leopard’.) It was destroyed by fire in 1914. The ruins are on private land and cannot be visited.

This palace, built by sultan Baraghash, lies on an artificial terrace behind a creek which allowed sufficient inflow of water as to supply the hammam, or bath house. North of palace is the chimney of a stem –powdered sugar factory built by Sultan.

MTONI PALACE RUINS

Mtoni Palace is located north of Maruhubi and it was chosen by Sultan Said bin Sultan for his palace, which was constructed between 1828 and 1834 after he left Muscat and made Zanzibar his seat.
One of Sultan Said’s daughters, Princess Salme in her book about her life on Zanzibar, describes Mtoni Palace in the 1850s: it had a large courtyard where gazelles, peacocks, ostriches, and flamingos wandered around, a large bath-house at one end and the sultan’s quarters at the other, where he lived with his principal wife, an Omani princess whose name was Azze.
According to Salme, over 1,000 people were attached to the sultan’s court in the palace. She described how the sultan would pace up and down on a large round tower overlooking the sea, where he could see his fleet anchored off the shore. In 1885, the palace at Mtoni had been abandoned and left in ruins. Today, only the main walls and parts of the roof is left of the palace.