Stonetown

Stonetown is known for its remarkable architecture. All the buildings look so beautiful!

The designs have influences from Arabic, Indian, European, and (of course) African style. Many of them are two or three stories high and have a rectangular shape. This allows for an inner courtyard to keep air circulating through all the rooms. All of the buildings are a light, off-white color.

I found out that many of the doors are even older than some of the buildings. Most have intricate carvings, but I'm not entirely sure what they all mean.

I was really fascinated by the doors.

  

Below is the biggest door in all of Stonetown. It was built for the ceremonial palace of the Sultan in the 1880s. The building itself was one of the first in all of East Africa to have running water and electricity. Some doors on the inside of this building have sacred writings inscribed on the wood.

  

Even some of the older buildings are so beautiful. I love how you can still see the detail and imagine what they might've looked like a hundred years ago. Many of the buildings are being restored to their original beauty... but I like the aged look. 

The little boats in the distance are called dhows.

Each time we went on an excursion from Zanzibar, we would ride the dala dala to Stonetown. It's very easy to get lost in the windy streets, but we all enjoyed the adventure.