First of all, I can only confirm that Stone Town IS a labyrinth and that it IS hard – well, basically impossible – not to get lost in it sooner or later. I admit that I didn’t believe it and thought it was just some kind of catchy tourist slogan that would exaggerate unscrupulously. But it is not. This place IS a maze.

I started my walking tour at the dalla-dalla bus station which at the same time is the main market. It was bustling with people, stands and merchants, some of whom were simple street sellers whose goods were spread out on dirty cloth on the ground. Shoppers, rusty bikes, and men pushing fully loaded carts rushed to make their way through the crowd, constantly trying to avoid somebody’s chicken cages or tomato pyramids. Most of what was sold here were fruits, vegetables and other food, some of it still alive when it changed hands. The smell, the noise and visual scenery was impressive but somehow also intimidating. Therefore, I decided to set off straight to the first point on my list of things to visit: the Old Slave Market. Not much is left of the place where thousands of slaves were traded over centuries. Nowadays, the cathedral of an Anglican Church stands on the market and only a memorial reminds the visitor of what has happened here. The foundation of the cathedral was laid in 1873, the same year when Sultan Barghash was forced , under the threat of a British naval bombardment, to sign an edict which made the sea-borne slave trade illegal. The Christian religion had played a significant role and Britain in particular in suppressing the slave trade. Although the market on Zanzibar was closed, the trade continued on the mainland. Slaving was illegal but existed openly until Britain took over the mainland following their defeat of the Germans in the First World War.

Something funny about this Anglican Church: The master builder in charge of its construction was the Bishop himself and his devoted supervision added greatly to the building. That his monitoring was indeed desperately needed, is proven by the fact that a short period of his absence resulted in the marble pillars of the Baptistery being erected upside down, the capitals served as bases. This is still how they are seen today. The construction was probably completed in 1887 with the cathedral’s altar standing at the original site of a tree where slaves used to be tied and beaten. As a dedication to the people who fought against the slave trade, one of the cathedral’s windows is dedicated to the memory of Dr. Livingstone. In addition, a crucifix standing in the cathedral is made of the tree that marked the place where Dr. Livingstone’s heart is buried in Zambia.

Right next to the church is a building which nowadays serves as a hostel. Beneath in the basement are two underground chambers that were used to keep slaves before they were auctioned on the nearby market. These chambers can still be visited today and give an insight into the terrible conditions in which the slaves were held. Already when you enter the basement descending a small stone-carved staircase, you start to feel the stuffy air and dim atmosphere down here. Following a narrow corridor, you reach the first chamber where the female slaves and children were held. A little further down the walkway, is the chamber for the men. Standing in these cells together with only three other visitors gives you the impression that it is ‘crowded’ and it feels very strange to learn that at times, each of the chambers would contain over 100 slaves, crammed in here, lying in their own excrements, sometimes without food or water for several days.

Already before arriving here, most slaves had to survive hell on their way to Zanzibar. Countless caravans started out from Bagamoyo on the mainland coast, travelling on foot as far as Lake Tanganyika (about 1600 km!), buying slaves from local rulers on the way, or, more cheaply, simply capturing them. The slaves were chained together and used to carry ivory and other goods back to Bagamoyo. The name Bagamoyo means ‘lay down your heart’ because it was here that slaves would abandon every last bit of hope for freedom. Slaves who survived the long trek on the continent were crammed into dhows bound for Zanzibar. Being shipped in horrible conditions that most of us cannot even imagine, the remaining survivors were paraded for sale and auctioned like cattle on the slave markets before being handed over to their new owners who would use them to work on local plantations or continue to ship and trade them elsewhere. No wonder that 1 in 3 slaves died before reaching their final destination! Sadly enough, all of the main racial groups were involved in the slave trade in one way or the other. Europeans used slaves on their plantations on the Indian Ocean islands, Arabs were the main traders, and African rulers sold prisoners taken in battle. Yet I was surprised to read that being sold into slavery was not a prisoner’s worst fate: If a prolonged conflict led to an abundance of prisoners, the Doe tribe north of Bagamoyo had the gruesome habit of eating ‘excess supplies’... Unfortunately, even after the slave trade was finally abolished in the 20th century, many former slaves found that their conditions had hardly changed – they were now simply employed as cheap labour on local spice plantations.

After being confronted with this very sinister chapter in mankind’s history, I needed a break from slave stories and just went for a walk through Stone Town’s labyrinth-like old part of the town. Most of the houses that can be seen here were built in the 19th century when Zanzibar was one of the most important trading centres in the Indian Ocean region. Unfortunately, many buildings are run-down and definitely need some restoration. Between 1982 and 1992 alone, 85 buildings in Stone Town collapsed due to lack of maintenance! And yet, even the most desolate houses have some sort of charm. One of the most impressive structures (and luckily renovated) is the so-called “House of Wonders”. It is a big white square-shaped construction and with its three floors the largest building ever seen in Zanzibar. It was erected in 1883 by Sultan Seyyid Barghash for ceremonial purposes and was the first building in Zanzibar to have electric light and an electric lift. Not surprisingly, the locals called it ‘Beit el Ajaib’, the House of Wonders, when it was built. On the death of Seyyid Hamad (Sultan 1893 – 1896), it was bombarded with adjoining buildings by the British fleet during the brief usurpation of the throne by Seyyid Khalid but unlike the other buildings it suffered comparatively little damage. The clock tower was added later to replace the former lighthouse that stood by itself on the front close to the sea and was severely damaged in the bombardment. This battle, by the way, is officially recognised as the shortest war in history (also see Guinness Book of Records)

A little bit of background for those interested or in case you ever plan to win a game show: The shortest war in history took place on August 27, 1896 and lasted precisely 45 minutes (9 to 9:45 am). Germany and Britain had been engaged in territorial disputes over the island of Zanzibar for several years. During the late 1880s and early 1890s, the island had gradually come under British control. Throughout this time the Sultan of Zanzibar obediently carried out British commands. When Sultan Seyyid Hamad died in 1896, the British Consul declared one of the Sultan’s cousins to become his successor. Seyyid Khalid, another relative of the late Sultan, however, seized the throne and, with German support, he declared himself the new ruler. The British feared their German rivals would come to dominate Zanzibar and so they ordered the new Sultan to retire – or face the consequences. The Sultan refused to withdraw his claim to the throne. Instead, he assembled 2500 Arab soldiers and hastily re-commissioned an ancient bronze cannon, which had not been fired in anger since 1658. The British began bombarding the small island from a fleet of warships anchored offshore. The sultan had no effective means of retaliation and surrendered 45 minutes later, after being granted asylum at the island’s German consulate.

The House of Wonders is located on the seafront between an Old Fort and the Palace Museum. The ford was built by an Arab family between 1698 and 1701; nowadays it is open to visitors and contains various shops and an open-air theatre. The Palace Museum was built in the late 1890s for members of the Sultan’s family and his harem. The building was originally called the Sultan’s Palace. In 1922, it became official residence of the Sultan of Zanzibar, but following the island’s independence and revolution in 1964, it was renamed the People’s Palace. In 1994 the Palace was turned into a museum dedicated to the history of Zanzibar’s Sultans which led to a third name change to the Palace Museum. For the first time, visitors can see much of the Sultan’s furniture and other possessions that survived the revolution. It is a very interesting museum and I enjoyed the visit a lot.

A little further along the seafront, is what my guidebook simply listed as “The Big Tree”. Curious what would be so special about a tree, I went to check it out – and found the biggest tree I have ever seen in my life! It was not outstandingly high but definitely had the biggest trunk ever. Some locals believe that Sultan Khalifa planted it in 1911. I have no idea what type of tree it was, but it had lots of thick root strands hanging from the higher branches and big, dark green leaves. The volume of its crown was impressive and I bet the overall diameter was at least 20 meters!

Not far from the tree, is the Old Dispensary which gained its name because it long housed a dispensary on the ground floor with a pharmacy and a resident doctor. The foundation stone of this grand building was laid in 1885, when a rich merchant wanted to sponsor the construction of a hospital, but it wasn’t completed until 1894. In 1900, the house was bought by the estate of Nasser Nur Mohamed with the intention to use it as a charitable institution. Nur Mohamed’s trustees set up a dispensary on the ground floor and subdivided the upper two floors into apartments. This mixed use of the building continued until the revolution in 1964, when the occupants fled the island and the dispensary fell into disuse. It wasn’t until 1994, a hundred years after its first completion, that a private Trust for Culture leased the Old Dispensary from the government and restored this major landmark to its former splendour. It’s design, rich decoration and its construction techniques are of exceptional qualities. Nowadays, the building hosts the Stone Town Cultural Centre with restaurants, shops and offices. I went inside to visit an exhibition of local artists and was especially impressed by the wooden carvings and colourful glass decorations of the first floor balcony. I perfectly understand why this house is considered one of Zanzibar’s finest architectural landmarks!

After walking around for several hours, I went for a late lunch at an Indian restaurant with entirely vegetarian food. Yummy! Afterwards I spent four hours writing my diary in an internet cafe and burned a new picture CD to send to Germany. Around 6:30 I took a taxi back to the congregation and had dinner with the family of another member of the church elders, Mr Msamba. It was very moving how I was welcomed in the private homes of the Mwanakwerekwe people. They all did their very best to offer me splendid dinners and truly touched me with their warm-hearted hospitality.