[< Previous Page]
[page 1] [page 2] [page 3] [page 4] [page 5] [page 6] [page 7] [page 8] [page 9] [page 10] [page 11] [page 12] [page 13] [page 14] [page 15] [page 16] [page 17] [page 18] [page 19] [page 20]
[Next Page >]
The next day, we set out to explore the ancient Stone Town, the urban heart of Zanzibar. Stone Town is a snapshot from the past. It has changed little in 200 years, and the city itself is even designated a UNESCO world heritage site.
Daladala transport
Getting from the Beach Villa to Stown Town was half the fun. Instead of taking a taxi, we decided to use the local bus service. These buses are mostly Toyota pickup trucks with a specially constructed wooden back end, consisting of two long benches, a roof over top, and lots of fancy wallpaper. These trucks are known as Daladalas. A conductor of sorts hangs off the back, and everyone gets packed right in, up to about 20 people per little pickup truck. Cost? About the equivalent of 20 US cents.

Stone Town is not a polished tourist destination. Real, working people inhabit the city. The city is crowded and has very narrow streets, most of which are inaccessible to vehicles (in fact, in many ways, it reminds me of a waterless and more run-down Venice). Some streets and buildings are very dilapidated, and some are in reasonably good shape. We walked through grungy meat markets, overflowing vegetable stands, kids running around in the streets playing with the simplest of toys (usually made of some discarded thing), and, of course, vendors hawking all manner of African souvenirs.
The walls of Stone Town
Market alleyway
Arab Fort
We spend most of the day aimlessly wandering around through magically shoddy little alleyways. We visit the grand old "House of Wonders", a grand old Victorian-era building that is now a national museum. I also notice many elaborate studded and carved doors on many buildings and dwellings. After catching another Daladala back to the Beach Villa, a casual evening with another fine but slowly-served meal at their restaurant capped off the day.
House of Wonders Entrance
Narrow streets
Carved doors of Zanzibar
House of Wonders
Indian ocean from House of Wonders
Carved Door Closeup
Stone town from above
Beachfront in Stone Town
Boats in the Indian Ocean
Video: A Tour of Stone Town
A video record of our wanderings in wonderful old Stone Town, Zanzibar. (2 minutes, 9 seconds)
[< Previous Page]
[page 1] [page 2] [page 3] [page 4] [page 5] [page 6] [page 7] [page 8] [page 9] [page 10] [page 11] [page 12] [page 13] [page 14] [page 15] [page 16] [page 17] [page 18] [page 19] [page 20]
[Next Page >]

[ Kilimanjaro trip home page | The main trip report | Real-time Trip Updates | Chombo & his men | Wildlife Extravaganza | Spotlight on the Maasai | Exotic Spice Islands of Zanzibar | Route Descriptions | Maps, Graphs & GPS Data | Audio & Video Repository | A Contrasting Tragedy | Markus' Report | Trip Preparations ]

Send feedback or leave comments (note: comments in message board below are separate from those in above message board)
(27 messages)
(last message posted on Mon. May 02, 12:49 EDT 2011 by Josee Leger)
Web Page & Design Copyright 2001-2024 by Andrew Lavigne. (Privacy Policy)