The House of Wonders in Zanzibar (Beit-al-Ajaib)

 

The House of Wonders (Beit-al-Ajaib) was formerly the palace of Sultan Barghash. It gets its name from the fact it was the first building in Zanzibar to have electricity, and the hundreds of light bulbs glowing at night must have made it truly a wondrous house.

This four-storey building, surrounded by wide and spacious verandas and topped by a highly visible clock tower, was built in 1883 and is one of the largest structures in Zanzibar.

The old Peace Memorial Museum (Beit el Amani) contains exhibits and records which make up the rich history of Zanzibar, from the early days of the Omani Sultans and the British colonial period right up until independence.

This magnificent structure houses old and new history books, a selection of archaeological findings, plus records of early trade, slavery, palaces, mosques, sultans, explorers and missionaries, in addition to exhibits of traditional crafts, stamps and coins.