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Nicole's
Travelogues and Budget Travel Tips..
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ZANZIBAR (CONT.), TANZANIA
The house has been converted to a national museum. I believe I paid 2,000 TS. The museum covers the Dhow Culture, the History and Architecture of Stone Town, the Industrial History, the Early History of the Swahili Coast, the Swahili Civilization, the Commercial Empire, and Contemporary Swahili Culture. Walk up to the top veranda and you'll get great views of Stone Town and the harbor. I barely made it up - when will I feel better? - but I did manage to snap a few pics from the top.
Next to the House of Wonders is the Omani Fort. It was built in 1780 by the Omanis, it was used to protect people from attacks expected from the mainland. The fort was later used as a prison and barracks. During the period of Portuguese rule, it was later used as a church, and remnants can still be seen. You can walk around inside for free and there is a small restaurant and some shops inside the fort. After the fort, I was feeling ill again so I went back to my room for an hour nap.
Coke seemed to settle my stomach, so every half an hour I got a coke and was able to shop for a bit. I still couldn't handle eating solid foods but I did try the famous spice ice creams. The clove ice cream was interesting! I wouldn't say it was good but it was interesting. After the ice cream, I walked a few blocks down to an internet cafe. I got the number to confirm my flight for the next day and got the number for the Impala Hotel in Arusha. I still had the voucher that Joseph had given me, so I wanted to see if it was really good. The owner of the internet cafe was really cool and we talked about politics for a bit. Then he called to confirm my flight for me and made a reservation at the Impala. Cool! What great service!
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After settling in, I headed to the water to find the House of Wonders. The House of Wonders was built in 1883 on the site of Zanzibar Queen Fatuma's residence. This was the first building in Zanzibar to have electric lights and the first in East Africa to have an elevator. It was damaged in 1896 during the Shortest War in History (only lasting 40 minutes). It was later used by the British as their local offices until the revolution in 1964. 
Ugh! I was still pretty sick but I knew I had to fly back to Arusha the next day so I needed to see as much as I could. I got up and wondered the alleys of Stone Town. Some of the vendors were setting up already at Forodhani Gardens so I bought a few things there and went looking for shops. 
I got back to my hotel room about 10:00pm and was exhausted! I was going to close my eyes for a bit and woke up at 3am. Crap! I set my alarm for 7am and went back to sleep. In the morning, I turned on TV and watched a Muslim prayer station. I was surprised that I didn't hear any prayer services over loud speakers outside, since Zanzibar was 99% Muslim, but I didn't. Anyway, the prayer service was quite soothing! At 8am, I went and checked out and grabbed a taxi to the airport. I was so sad to leave Zanzibar, especially without getting to eat anything but hopefully I will return some day! 
