Even its name sounds exotic and the island lives up to its spicy image
The name Zanzibar conjures up visions of sultans’ palaces, paradisiacal beaches and winding alleyways leading to spice-filled bazaars. Indeed, this coral archipelago in the Indian Ocean, 23 miles off the eastern coast of Tanzania, still has many of the features that it did when it was an important trading centre and its historic Stone Town served as the capital of an Omani sultanate. Zanzibar’s largest island, Unguja, is home to most of the cultural attractions, many of them found in beguiling Stone Town, which was awarded Unesco World Heritage status in 2000.
Street trader at a market in Zanzibar city
House of Spices
In recent years, there’s been a concerted effort to restore and give new life to the city’s distinctive structures. Palaces have been turned into museums and cultural centres, and grand Swahili mansions have been reborn as restaurants and boutique hotels. Yet the coast still offers the “delicious view” that the explorer Sir Richard Burton recorded, of a “cocoa-fringed shore of purest white, and the sea blue as a slab of lapis lazuli”.
Friday 4pm 1. Stone Town Wandering down the narrow lanes of Stone Town in the late afternoon might be this city’s simplest pleasure. Many buildings date to the 19th century, and their most striking feature is their ornate doors. Carved out of mahogany or teak, some Zanzibari doors are adorned with brass spikes, while others have intricate patterns, such as vines or lotus flowers, etched onto them. Standout portals include the golden door at the House of Wonders, the entrance to the Old Fort, and a collection of doors on Baghani Street. A map of Stone Town’s finest doors can be bought for $4 (€3) at the Gallery Bookshop, while a refreshing mango and coconut smoothie ($2.55/€1.65) can be ordered at Lazuli, a tiny cafe with a turquoise door.
6pm 2. Sung poetry The island’s celebrated music genre, called taarab, fuses Swahili, Arab and Indian influences, reflecting the many cultures that have passed through Zanzibar. This style of mellifluous sung poetry accompanied by an orchestra became popular in the 1870s, when it was played in the sultan’s court. Today, visitors can enjoy taarab concerts at the Mtoni Palace Ruins, the one-time residence of a 19th-century sultan. Led by the esteemed musician Mohammed Issa Matona, students from the local Dhow Countries Music Academy perform complex and haunting songs in an open-air courtyard lit by a bonfire. The event ($45/€33) also includes a Zanzibari dinner of coriander-spiced tuna, ginger beef and honeyed dough balls, and, be warned, some goofy historical re-enactments.
9pm 3. Waterfront snacks Take a leisurely stroll through the evening food market at Forodhani Gardens, a popular meeting place on the waterfront. The park received a face-lift several years ago, and now has walkways, better lighting and plenty of benches. There are dozens of stalls, selling everything from fish skewers to spicy soup to mango slices dusted with chilli salt (6pm to 10pm). Even if you can’t eat another bite, try a cup of hand-cranked sugar cane juice infused with ginger and lime. 10pm 4. Night-time diversions As in many conservative Muslim cities, the night life here verges on sleepy, yet there are pockets of liveliness.
http://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/fashion/weekend-in-zanzibar-1.1822989
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