This is Morag. I know Sam already posted about Zanzibar, but I just wanted to put up a few more pictures, because Stone Town (the old part of Zanzibar Town) is full of amazing images. It was one of the places I was most looking forward to taking some photos on the trip. Getting good photos was not easy and I was not patient enough in the crowded narrow lanes, but here are some images to give you an idea. The rooftop terraces were wonderful places to hang out, catch a breeze and spy on the world around.
But the carved doors were my favourite architectural feature. They were everywhere in all shapes and colours and levels of detail. Fabulous.
I also found it very moving to visit the site of the old slave market in Zanzibar town. An Anglican cathedral was constructed on the site at the end of the 19c, with the altar marking the point where slaves had been tied to the whipping post. The church is visible in the right-hand photo on the top row above, which was taken from the terrace of our hotel. There is a sculpture portraying chained-up slaves in a pit in front of the church, and in an adjacent building you can still see the cramped and dark basement store-rooms where slaves were chained and kept prior to being taken up for sale. Provoked some family discussions on modern forms of slavery. Sobering.