House of Wonders

Thursday, September 8, 2005

Right next to the Arab fort was a very large blocky white building, several stories high and with a long row of columns out front.

This building is known as the House of Wonders or Beit el Ajaib, and was built in 1883 as a ceremonial palace for the Sultan Barghash.

What were the wonders it contained?

Well, it was the first building in Zanzibar, and indeed perhaps all of East Africa, to have electric lights and an electric elevator. I think it had running water too. Very exciting stuff for the time and place.

Nowadays there are plans for it to open it as the National Museum.

Today I didn't go inside but watched as the ornate front door with spiky brass studs was polished and petted the multitude of underfed cats brushing against us in the parking-lot out front.

There is a huge cat over-population problem here and I suspect the cost of spaying and neutering is simply not feasible in Zanazibar (or probably the rest of Africa either).