House of Wonders
Government of Tanzania |
The House of Wonders or Palace of Wonders (in
History
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The palace was built in 1883 for
Though this building served to attest to the modernity of the Sultan, other elements made it a functional palace, such as the covered passages above street level (called wikios)[what language is this?] which connected the House of Wonders to the two adjacent palaces Beit al-Hukum and Beit al-Sahel (now Palace Museum), allowing the royal ladies to move about unseen. The building has a large central covered courtyard or atrium surrounded by open galleries. Some of the inner doors of the palace are beautifully carved with inscriptions from the Quran. The marble floors and most of the silver decorations inside were imported from Europe.
The Sultan ostensibly kept wild animals chained up for display in front of the building and had the main door made wide enough so that he could ride an elephant through.
In front of the building once stood a lighthouse which was destroyed during the Anglo-Zanzibar War of 27 August 1896. This brief war also destroyed the Beit al-Hukum Palace and severely damaged the Beit al-Sahel Palace. The House of Wonders suffered only minor damages. During reconstruction in 1897 a new clock tower was integrated into the facade of the building. Beit al-Hukum was not rebuilt; its location was transformed into a garden, increasing the visual dominance of the House of Wonders.
The House of Wonders was only fully occupied by the Sultan and his harem after the bombardment. In 1911 it was transformed into government offices and as the main secretariat for the British governing authorities. After the Zanzibar Revolution of 1964 it was converted into a school and a museum for the ruling Afro-Shirazi Party with North Korean aid. In 1992–1994 museum development was initiated. Today it serves as a museum and it is one of Stone Town's major tourist attractions.
The House of Wonders Museum, inaugurated in the early 2000s
The House of Wonders had been closed due to disrepair, with large sections of the veranda and roof collapsing in 2012 and 2015, respectively, threatening the structural integrity of the rest of building.[7] The museum has moved to another location. Despite the building currently being under a 6 million rehabilitation effort, much of its frontal facade, including the clock tower, reportedly collapsed in December 2020. This of course came as a shock and a great loss to Zanzibari's as the palace is a part of the regions history and is also a UNESCO heritage site[8]
Incident
On 25 December 2020, a mansion which was being renovated after the government of Oman had released the cost of 10 billion shillings collapsed.[9] Four workers who were trapped inside were rescued by the rescue team, whereas 2 workers lost their lives.[10] However, with the help of the sketchings and drawings, a similar building will be reconstructed.[11]
References
- ^ "Independent Travel Guide to Zanzibar". www.zanzibar.org. Archived from the original on 6 July 2005.
- ^ a b "House of Wonders Museum". Archived from the original on 16 November 2012.
- ^ "The Zanzibar Stone Town Tour". Archived from the original on 17 March 2018. Retrieved 22 November 2010.
- ^ a b "House of Wonders". Archived from the original on 5 February 2005.
- ^ See Sheriff e Voogt
- ^ See The Stone Town of Zanzibar
- ^ "House of Wonders and Palace Museum". World Monuments Fund. Archived from the original on 30 September 2020. Retrieved 11 December 2010.
- ^ "Iconic House of Wonders collapse leaves Zanzibaris wondering about fate of cultural heritage". globalvoices.org. 28 December 2020. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
- ^ "Zanzibar House of Wonders collapses". The Citizen. 26 December 2020.
- ^ "Two die from collapsed House of Wonders in Zanzibar". The Citizen. 26 December 2020.
- ^ "Tanzania's landmark House of Wonders partly collapses". 26 December 2020.
External links
- Department of Archives, Museums and Antiquities, House of Wonders Museum
- Abdul Sheriff and Paul Voogt, The Zanzibar House of Wonders Museum
- House of Wonders
- Stone Town Tour
- The Stone Town of Zanzibar
- House of Wonders facts & photos