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 vessel made without nails, the planks held together only with coconut fibres and wooden pegs).