Interesting facts about Zanzibar

1. Zanzibar is the birthplace of “Asia’s first rock star.” This nickname is popular in the UK, but few people in Russia know about such an interesting fact that the “first Asian rock star” was called... Freddie Mercury, the legendary lead singer of Queen. Farooq Bulsara (real name Freddie Mercury) was a Parsi (an ethnic group in Southeast Asia - India and Pakistan, of Iranian origin). He was born in Stone Town, lived in Zanzibar until the age of eight, then studied in India, where at the age of 12 he formed his first rock band with friends, returned to Zanzibar at the age of 16, and only then, at the age of 18, , is with family in the UK.
2. Another “specialty” of Zanzibar is The Rock restaurant. It is the “Rock” restaurant that can often be seen on postcards and tourist brochures about Zanzibar... Note that it is quite difficult to take a truly colorful “postcard” photo of the Rock. This island restaurant is located on Pingwe Beach from the highest tide on the island... And except for just a few hours a day, the island is not an island at all and can be reached on foot through seabed-covered water. In addition, the place is heavily advertised, the prices are high, there are usually no empty seats, and it is better to book a table in advance. However, The Rock in Zanzibar is definitely worth a visit.

3. Zanzibar in the Guinness Book of Records noted an interesting fact, which is known as the shortest war in human history, although it was lost. In response, Great Britain issued an ultimatum to Zanzibar, declared war, and drove a fleet of five ships off the coast of Zanzibar. The Zanzibaris removed their only cannon from the palace and deployed their only small ship... The battle lasted just over 30 minutes. During such short hostilities, Great Britain accidentally lost one sailor wounded, quickly sank the aforementioned ship from a cannon, destroyed coastal forts, more than 500 residents of Zanzibar and restored its power over the island...
4. In Zanzibar (Josani Forest National Park) you can see wild red colobus. The red colobus monkey is a very rare (endangered) species of monkey native to central and eastern Africa. There are practically no monkeys left on the continent, but about 3 thousand individuals live in Zanzibar.
5. Zanzibar translates as “black coast” or “coast of black people”. In the early and mid-19th century, the island was long the largest slave market and center for slave traders. In Stone Town, in the market area and in the area of the Anglican Cathedral, you can see preserved cellars for storing slaves and a monument to the memory of all the unfortunate slaves... It is known that in 1873, just 43 years before the ban on the slave trade in Zanzibar, about 600 thousand slaves were sold : How much has been sold since the beginning of the 19th century, one can only guess... Another “shameful” page is the hunt for albinos... Although albinos can feel relatively safe in Zanzibar, in Tanzania things are much worse.