crystal's capers: Stone Town and Mbweni Ruins Hotel

Stone Town and Mbweni Ruins Hotel

After our seven nights at Ocean Paradise we transferred (on my birthday) to Mbweni Ruins, a small resort of 13 rooms just outside Stone Town, the capital of Zanzibar. We had the choice to stay directly in the city, but I guessed that hotels there would be hot, crampt and lacking in beachiness. I was right - it was great to stay by the water.

Mbweni Ruins was the most low-budget of our accommodations, but charming nonetheless. Situated on the opposite side of the island from our previous two resorts, the beach was more of a picturesque bay fringed by mangrove trees. The ocean deepens off much more quickly on this side, since it's not within a reef, which meant that the water itself was slightly murkier. Luckily, there was a lovely pool area, surrounded by a palm jungle. The resort also features the ruins that give it its name: these were once a girls' school that was originally built to give post-slave era girls skills with which they might help support their families.

From Mbweni we took a free shuttle into Stone Town - it was about 10 minutes drive to the town centre. On the first afternoon we immediately commenced our shopping. The Old city is comprised almost entirely of market stalls for tourists, and otherwise deserted. As it happens, natives of Stone Town have all be relocating to the New city. This is likely the result of the decay of the old, poorly maintained colonial buildings. During the spice trade, and later, during the slave trade, Stone Town became a bustling and wealthy port. Many grand buildings were built, and now many grand buildings remain empty and in disrepair. The government is trying to entice people back into the Old city by offerring rents of just $5 per months for downtown apartments; unfortunately no one is taking them up on it. Some of these buildings, though are being let to foreigners investors who convert them into hotels.

Since it was my birthday, on the first evening, Riccardo suprised me with a special dinner. Somehow, without my knowing, he had heard of a well-sought after rooftop restaurant overlooking the city. Apparently it's extremely difficult to get reservations at this small establishment, but with the help of our tour company, Tanzania Adventure, he procured a reservation. We dined at the top of the city on delicious traditional Zanzibari fare and I had an extremely happy 29th birthday!

We learned more about the city during our second day in Stone Town when Tanzania Adventure arranged a walking tour of the city for us. With our guide, Abraham, we started at the slave cells, which were located near the port, underneith the city. I didn't take any pictures of the cells, what with their tragic history, but I can tell you the conditions were awful. If slaves survived their time under the city, they then had to survive the horrible passage to the Americas or Europe. This time is commemorated by a memorial statue nearby the first church in Stone Town, which was built overtop of the slave market site.

We walked through town and additionally viewed the palace of the former Sultans of Zanzibar, the House of Wonders (the largest building in East Africa at the time it was built; the first building in East Africa to have electricity; and the first to have an elevator), and the birthplace of Freddie Mercury (the lead singer of Queen). The stinkiest place we visited was the Central Market, which is where locals shop for groceries. The butchers hung all their meat out in the open; the poulterer kept baskets of live chickens with the practise of buying your chicken and then having it butchered on site; the fish market with its daunting selection of sea creatures; all this was next to an amazing green (and red, yellow, orange, blue, purple, pink...) grocery section and huge array of spice merchants. What chaos!

A quick anecdote we learned on our tour: there are two main types of doors in Stone Town: Arab doors, known for their squared tops, and Indian doors, known for their rounded tops. These show some of the multi-cultural influences that occur in Zanzibar. Back in the days when Zanzibar was part of Oman, on mainland Africa, the presiding Sultan loved to spend most of his time on the island. Obviously the climate was a big factor. With him, he brought numerous elephants, which were a common form of transport on the mainland. These elephants were left to roam through the city, and since they were not tended, had to find their own food. This is why, on most Arab and Indian doors, you will notice metal spikes; these days, the spikes are purely ornamental and are no longer pointed, but back in the day, they would have been sharp in order to prevent the elephants from breaking down your front door and scavenging for food. A neat little way to make sure you didn't wake up with an elephant in your kitchen!

We summed up our stay on Zanzibar with more shopping, which included buying an extra bag with which to bring home all our treasures. The nice thing about shopping was that we didn't feel pressured. The people in Stone Town seemed laid-back and genuinely friendly. They always waved or said 'Jambo', but didn't seem to be looking for a handout for their effort. And if you weren't able to bargain for a suitable price, they let you go without a hassle. Bargaining with the locals was great fun, though we're sure we didn't always make ourselves a good deal! Big thanks to my mom who sent money for me to get myself a birthday present, which caused me to get something special and sizeable for myself: a gorgeous handmade jewellery box.

crystal's capers

Stone Town and Mbweni Ruins Hotel

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