Out of Africa! Stone Town of Zanzibar – Day 7

A new day, a new tour.  The target this time  was the capital City, Stone Town. And again this time the tour was organized by Zan Tours and the starting point was Zuri Hotel at Kendwa Beach. During the 1 hour drive we had the chance to discuss a lot with our tour guide about the history of the island, the slavery issue as well as various topics related to culture, the history and the religion of Zanzibar.

At Stone Town we started the long walk from the Former Slave market and the Anglican Cathedral, the slave chambers and the museum with the history of the place.

Then we moved to the town’s open market, the Darajani market. An unthinkable fish and meat market for all of us who leave in different cities with different lifestyles.

We continued to the flea market full of spices, fruits, colors and smells before we go to small stores selling local textiles, the famous Kanga, at beautiful colors, patterns and messages!

The walk in the small streets of Stone Town continues and we let ourselves to be carried away from the mixture of the Arab and the African world.

We had the opportunity see some of the famous wooden doors and understand the symbols that were craved on them.

Time flies so we stopped for a coffee at the glorious Zanzibar Coffee House , a very original Hotel open to the public for coffee and desserts at the top flour with the most amazing view of the city.

After we got some rest we continued our walk in the small streets of Stone Town, mingling with other tourists and locals till we found the old Emerson Spice Hotel. At the opposite corner we found a small local gallery where we bought a few paintings from local arts at prices that really worth it.

Gradually, we reached the sea and we had the opportunity to see Beit-el-Ajaib, a really important building for the history of Stone Town and Zanzibar, which unfortunately couldn’t visit because it was closed for renovation. At that point we had already reached Forodhani Garden, the famous night food market, very next to the sea but it was too early for us to taste the local delicacies.

Next stop was Freddie Mercury’s house who was born and raised in Zanzibar but never came back after he left the island.

After walking a couple more blocks further up the road, we went at Memories of Zanzibar store were we had the opportunity to buy several local memorabilia at not very reasonable prices!

After that we took the long road to Kendwa to continue our sunbathing adventures!