Stone Town Crumble

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Stone Town Crumble

We had planned to head back to the Tanzanian mainland and travel north of Dar to spend New Year closer to the Kenyan border. As we ticked off all of the fully booked places we called, we realized that we would just have to stay on Zanzibar - damn ! It's horrible here !

Paje and Bwejuu sounded good ("more of a party scene but equally good for wandering along the perfect white sandy beaches") so we started calling around - only to find that Paje was fully booked also. Paradise Beach Bungalows in Paje (A Japanese run place that sounded wonderful) referred us to "Seven Seas" so we took our chances and booked for New Year.

So, on to Stone Town for a couple of days - our "City Mini Break" we called it - before more beach bumming. We emerged from our beach cacoon as we pulled into the Dhow Port area of Stone Town and hauled our bags up to our tiny cramped room in a guest house next to the fish market. The roof terrace coffee bar was fantastic and allowed us to see the chaos as dhows docked and left the port - goods being offloaded by hand and carried above heads to more waiting heads and bicycles.

Wandering around Stone Town was amazing. Take a turn, any turn, and find yourself lost amongst small back street communities and spontaneous kick-abouts with local kids. Emerge back onto the main tourist drags and get pissed off at the number of people showing zero respect for the well known conservative Stone Town dress code - Italians strutting around in tiny shorts, string tops and bare chests. Dart back into more random side streets to savour the smells and sounds. Sit on a step in the middle of the maze and watch life carrying on around you. Look up at the crumbling facades and notice the number of collapsed buildings.

Stone Town is literally crumbling and the House of Wonders museum helps you to understand why. Buildings nationalised with no plan for regular maintenance and extensive use of incompatible materials for patching up have led top Stone Town being in the state that it is today.

We read with interest in the museum that Tourism is destroying the Swahili culture of Zanzibar and asked ourselves what the future holds for Stone Town ? Who will fund restoration and who will regulate the work to make sure that no more damage is done.

Stone Town is quirky and wonderful away from the main toursist streets. See it before it crumbles away completely.

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Photos

Rusting and Crumbling
A view across Stone Town from the terraces of the House of Wonders Museum, Zanzibar.
Copyright Andy Bodycombe 2007

Sky Slots
Looking up in the narrow backstreets of Stone Town. The ruins of recently collapsed building are all around and restoration seems sporadic. Stone Town, Zanzibar, Tanzania.
Copyright Andy Bodycombe 2007

Stone Town Dhow Port
Ocean going and coastal dhows unload their cargo onto waiting shoulders. Stone Town, Zanzibar, Tanzania.
Copyright Andy Bodycombe 2007

The Old Dispensary
Stained glass on the veranda of the Old Dispensary. Stone Town, Zanzibar, Tanzania.
Copyright Andy Bodycombe 2007

Bath Time
The ablution fountain at the entrance of the now closed Hmamni Persion Baths. Stone Town, Zanzibar, Tanzania.
Copyright Andy Bodycombe 2007

Monsoon Light
A wall light at the Monsoon Restaurant - low tables and floor cushions plus good food make this a fantastic lunch or evening stop off. Stone Town, Zanzibar, Tanzania.
Copyright Andy Bodycombe 2007

Forodhani Food and Firelight
Charcoal burners, hot oil and Tilly lamps transform Forodhani Gardens into a street food lovers paradise. Don't trust the claimed freshness of some of the fish though! Stone Town, Zanzibar, Tanzania.
Copyright Andy Bodycombe 2007

Tilly Lamps and Tourists
Forodhani Gardens street food vendors work hard to persuade tourists that their food is better and fresher than the neighbour's. Stone Town, Zanzibar, Tanzania.
Copyright Andy Bodycombe 2007