The doors and alleyways of Stone Town

Our next stop was for Nassor to explain to us about the different styles of elaborate wooden doors to be found in Stone Town. He told us how to differentiate between Indian doors with their arched door frames and Arabic ones that have square frames. He also said that the idea that the metal spikes found on Indian doors are to protect the occupants from elephants is a myth. This might have been true in parts of India, particularly Gujarat, but in Zanzibar, they are purely decorative.

We also visited Stone Town’s Hindu temple. There are very few Hindus remaining in Zanzibar. Those that are still here are mostly elderly. However, many of their family members, who usually live and work in Dar-es-Salaam, return to the island at weekends and worship in the temple.Read more