Mtoni Ruins

Overlooking the coast, away from the heat and hustle of Zanzibar Town, Mtoni Palace was built for Sultan Seyyid Said in 1828. It was home to the sultan’s only legitimate wife, many secondary wives and hundreds of children. According to contemporary descriptions, it was a beautiful building with a balconied exterior and a large garden courtyard complete with peacocks and gazelles. Now only a ruin remains with roofless halls and arabesque arches framing glimpses of tropical foliage and an azure sea.

On the western beach of Zanzibar stand the impressive ruins of a palace. It was the seat of power of Seyyid Said, sultan of East Africa and Oman and it was here that the famous Princess Salme was born. Its name is Mtoni Palace. It was a major building complex on Zanzibar and it stands at the basis of the much admired Zanzibar building tradition.

Archaeological and architectural research was set up to unveil some of this history and the results were published in a book. Although the building itself is now in ruins, the book takes the reader back to the times of Princess Salme to stroll through the palace's numerous halls, gardens and bathhouses in their nineteenth century splendour. Virtual reconstruction drawings, descriptions by eyewitnesses and stories from the fascinating memoirs of Princess Salme, these together build upon the existing structures and bring the palace back to life.

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verlooking the coast, away from the heat and hustle of Zanzibar Town, Mtoni Palace was built for Sultan Seyyid Said in 1828. It was home to the sultan’s only legitimate wife, many secondary wives and hundreds of children. According to contemporary descriptions, it was a beautiful building with a balconied exterior and a large garden courtyard complete with peacocks and gazelles. Now only a ruin remains with roofless halls and arabesque arches framing glimpses of tropical foliage and an azure sea.

This is a diamond in the rough with tremendous potential as a cultural & historical tourist site if preservation and restoration were to occur.

The ruins photograph beautiful and is wonderful for photo enthusiast. Shadows and architectural lines provide nice texture and background for photos. This should be a stop for any lover of history or photography-just do not expect grandeur like the ruins of Angkor Wat or Giza or preservation to the likes of European palaces.

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