Nestled in Stone Town, Zanzibar, this white palace is one of the main historical buildings of the area. Located on Mizingani Road on the seafront between the House of Wonders and the Old Dispensary, it features merlon-decorated white walls. It was built in the late 19th century to serve as a residence for the Sultan's family on the site of the previous palace, Bait As-Sahel, which was destroyed in the Anglo Zanzibar war of 1896.
After the Zanzibar Revolution in 1964, the building was renamed People's Palace and used as a government seat before becoming a museum in 1994. Today, it preserves the history of the Zanzibari royal family. One floor of the museum is dedicated to Sultan Sir Khalifa bin Harub, while another floor is dedicated to Sayyida Salme, best known as Emily Ruete. She was a former Zanzibari princess who fled from the sultanate to relocate to Hamburg, Germany, with her husband Rudolph Heinrich Ruete.
Exhibits include some of her writings, clothes, and daily life accessories. Several furniture items and other belongings of the Sultan's family are also on exhibition to give visitors an idea of what life was like in Zanzibar during the 19th century. This historical building remains a central site for understanding the heritage of the region.
Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons
Written by Mutabor
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