House of Wonders (Beit el-Ajaib), Tanzania

June 2, 2009 in Africa

Do your have a passion for history and want some kind of adventure? Visit House of Wonders (Beit el-Ajaib) in Tanzania. This is one of the most important landmarks of the place and people from all across the world come to visit this building with some sort of historical importance. This building has loads of information to cater to people who love mystery. The building is now a national treasure and is converted to a museum for public attraction. It was until 2002 that this building was closed and no was as allowed to enter into the building even with the gravest of reasons.

The history of the building dates back into the 17th century when the building was constructed in the honor of Sultan Barghash. This building titled ‘Beit al Ajaib’ was constructed by a marine engineer. The construction history of this building becomes clearer when you will find the use of steel pillars and girders. Just besides this building there is the older palace of Queen Fatuma. The building of ‘Beit al Ajaib’ was constructed with fine marble floors coupled with paneled walls. This was the first building of the century to have electricity in Zanzibar. It was since then that people of Tanzania were frightened about the building and named it as a ‘House of Wonders’, as its name signifies.

The building had to go through turmoil and tolerate exhaustions. Naval bombardment in 1896 after the death of Sultan Hamad ruined most of its beauty. Sultan’s cousin capture the throne and ruled over the zone since a long time until in 1911 British colonial government captured it for using it for official purposes. After several years, the building was used by the ‘Chama Cha Mapinduzi’ a revolutionary political party. But due to failure in several plans the building began to lose its worth and it was closed for a certain period of time. Later it was reopened as a national museum.

Visitors tour this building to go through its rich historical value. The historical value that this building covers includes the maritime story of Swahili coast, information about the Stone Town and also about the trading history of Swahili Empire. The building consists of a library and conference hall that tells the tale of British, Portuguese and Omani colonial times. If you take a look through the balcony of this historical building you will be able to find two old bronze cannons. One of these has Portuguese inscriptions on its body. This were probably brought by the Omanis but were made in Portugal. Photography is permitted against certain cost, so you can easily carry your camera and take down the images inside and outside this wonder building of Tanzania. This is a wonderful place to visit and learn an out the 17th and 18th century. Students from all over the world come down to House of Wonders (Beit el-Ajaib) in Tanzania each year and conduct research work on this people of history.