The House of Wonders (Beit al-Ajaib) is the ceremonial palace Sultan Barghash bin Said commissioned in 1883 on Stone Town’s Mizingani Road waterfront. It is the tallest building in Stone Town, and history and architecture travelers come to see the structure that announced Zanzibar’s ambitions to the Indian Ocean world (Zanzibar Island Guide).
The palace earned its name as the first building in East Africa with electric lighting and an elevator. British warships shelled it during the 1896 Anglo-Zanzibar War, and its clock tower was added during the rebuilding that followed. Tiered cast-iron balconies wrap the facade, and carved wooden doors and an old cannon mark the entrance. For years it housed a museum of Swahili and Zanzibari culture. In December 2020, part of the building collapsed during restoration work, and the museum has been closed while reconstruction continues (Maploco).
Visitor Highlights & Practical Info
Check the building’s reopening status with the Zanzibar museums authority before you plan an interior visit. You can still view the exterior from Forodhani Gardens, which sit directly across the road. The facade looks best in late afternoon light. After sunset, the gardens fill with food stalls serving Zanzibar pizza and grilled seafood. The Old Fort stands on one side of the House of Wonders and the Palace Museum on the other, so you can combine all three on a single waterfront walk. The dry months from June to October bring the most visitors. Mornings are the quietest time for photography.
