Architectural, Cultural sights in Zanzibar Archipelago
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Beit el-Ajaib (House of Wonders)
Beit el-Ajaib - home to the Zanzibar National Museum of History & Culture is one of the largest structures in Zanzibar. It was built in 1883 by Sultan Barghash (r 1870-88) as a ceremonial palace. After British naval bombardment in 1896 it was rebuilt and used as a residential palace for the Sultans and later the headquarters of the CCM (Tanzania's ruling party).
Inside are exhibits on the dhow culture of the Indian Ocean, Swahili civilisation and 19th-century Zanzibar, plus smaller displays on kangas (printed cotton wraparound, incorporating a Swahili proverb, worn by women) and the history of Stone Town. There's also a life-sized mtepe (a traditional Swahili sailing vess…
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Livingstone House
Livingstone House was built around 1860 and used as a base by many of the European missionaries and explorers before they started their journeys to the mainland. Today it's mostly remembered as the place where David Livingstone stayed before setting off on his last expedition. Now it houses the office of the Zanzibar Tourist Corporation. You can walk from town, or take a 'B' dalla-dalla.
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