The house of wonder

The House of Wonders or The Palace of Wonders is a historic building in Stone Town, Zanzibar. It is the largest and tallest building in the Stone City and it is considered a prominent place on the waterfront on Mizingani Road. The House of Wonders locates between the Old Citadel and Beit Al Sahel (the former Sultan's Palace). It is one of the six palaces that were made by the Omani Sultan Barghash bin Said, the second Sultan of Zanzibar, and it is said to be located on the site of the palace of Queen Fatuma of Zanzibar in the 17th century. The House of Wonders now is considered the Museum of History and Culture of Zanzibar and the Swahili Coast.

It now contains exhibits on Swahili culture, Zanzibari culture and the East African environment. The inner courtyard contains a traditional Swahili boat. There are also several rooms around the main courtyard, each room containing various exhibits from Zanzibari history, for example traditional fishing tools, traditional ships, paintings of the Sultans of Zanzibar and other figures (including a painting of the famous merchant Tibutip), and also furniture from other leaders palaces. The ground floor rooms also contains an old car belonging to President Abeid Karume.