1. Wonderhouse Mac Os X
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5. Wonderhouse Mac Os Catalina

historic tours

Historic tours of the Wonder House are available only by booking a reservation online in advance here.

Tour dates are usually posted up to two months in advance, however due to covid-19 and the uncertainty of the world, we are only offering limited amounts of tour dates and times. Sign up for our newsletter at the bottom of this page to be notified of new tour dates.
The Wonder House is a full time private residence opening up on a limited basis to offer historic tours.
The tour lasts approximately 1.5 hours and covers three floors of the house. We will cover the history of the Wonder House, the builder Conrad Schuck and the inventions and gadgets he implemented into the building of the house, as well as some of the items we have collected to bring Schuck’s vision back to life. Please note that the house is in the process of being restored, so you will see many finished rooms and rooms in varying states of progress.

• Note: the actual selection may vary depending on your Android device model and OS version. Tap on the Language menu to select (or add) your language of choice. After updating your OS language setting on your device, relaunch the Wonder or Blockly app. If your robot spoke in a different language, connecting to the robot presents an Optional.
• The wonders of Wonderhouse! Having the actual owners do the tour & getting the history first hand from the extensive research they did made it so personal. They're so passionate about it & welcomed questions & spent more time than the estimated tour takes.
• 1740 – Ivan VI becomes Tsar of Russia OS=Oct 17 1746 – Peruvian cities of Lima & Callao demolished by earthquake, 18,000 die 1776 – Battle of White Plains; Washington retreats to NJ 1790 – New York gives up claims to Vermont for $30,000 1793 – Eli Whitney applies for a patent on cotton gin.

Notes: Welcome to my first attempt at fanfic in almost a decade! Sorry if my prose writing sucks! I loved the Willoughbys movie, noticed a criminal lack of content, and just so happened to have ideas kicking around my head.

Reservations required for all tours. Reserve online here!

Cash only.

Free parking.

Space is limited!

admission

Adults: $25
Children 12 and under: $10
CASH ONLY.

parking

Parking is located in the rear of the property, accessible via El Paso Trail, behind the house.
Please be considerate of our yard and other guests when parking.

booking info

Wonderhouse Mac Os X

In order to book a historic tour- please clickhere.
You must have booked online in advance and have an email confirmation in order to take a historic tour, no walk ups are accepted.
Tours are cash only, we cannot accept credit cards at this time.

You may change or cancel your reservation up to 24 hours in advance. If you are unable to make your reservation, please cancel via the link at the bottom of your confirmation email, this allows guests on the waiting list to book a tour!

If all the spaces on a tour are filled, you may be placed on a waiting list. If a tour becomes available, you will be notified via email to book your tour.

Things to know

You must have booked a tour online in advance in order to participate in a tour. No walk ups for tours will be accepted, as this is our full time private residence and we are opening up on a limited basis to offer historic tours.

Tours are cash only- bring extra cash if you would like to purchase a souvenir from our gift shop. We currently have postcards, t-shirts and a locally handmade candle exclusive to the Wonder House.

Please arrive at least 10 minutes prior to your tour start time.

For the safety of our personal belongings and the antiques on display, leave all large bags in your vehicle during the tour.

Due to the historical nature of the house, there is no elevator and the house is not wheelchair accessible.

Please refrain from wearing high heels as there are many stairs involved on the tour!

Due to insurance, there is no photography or videography permitted inside the Wonder House, however you are welcome to take photos on the outdoor porches and on the grounds! :)

Please no outside food, drinks or gum inside the house.

Due to Covid-19, we would like to offer the option of booking a private tour for those concerned about group settings. Private groups must be a group of 4 or more and will need to reach out to wonderhousebartow@gmail.com for availability. Admission cost for a private tour is $30 per person.

The House of Wonders or Palace of Wonders (in Arabic: Beit-al-Ajaib, بيت العجايب) is a landmark building in Stone Town, Zanzibar. It is the largest and tallest building of Stone Town and occupies a prominent place facing the Forodhani Gardens on the old town's seafront, in Mizingani Road. It is located between the Old Fort and the Palace Museum (and former Sultan's Palace). It is one of six palaces built by Barghash bin Said, second Sultan of Zanzibar, and it is said to be located on the site of the 17th-century palace of Zanzibari queen Fatuma.^[1] The House of Wonders housed the Museum of History and Culture of Zanzibar and the Swahili Coast.

History[edit]

The palace was built in 1883 for Barghash bin Said, second Sultan of Zanzibar.^[2][3] It was intended as a ceremonial palace and official reception hall, celebrating modernity, and it was named 'House of Wonders' because it was the first building in Zanzibar to have electricity, and also the first building in East Africa to have an elevator.^[4] The design of the palace is attributed to a British marine engineer and indeed its form introduced new architectural elements into the Zanzibar repertoire, including the wide external verandas supported by cast-iron columns, which allowed for uniquely high ceilings. The construction materials consisted of an original combination of coral rag, concrete slabs, mangrove shoots or boriti, and steel beams.

Though this building served to attest to the modernity of the Sultan, other elements made it a functional palace, such as the covered passages above street level (called wikios)^{[what language is this?]} which connected the House of Wonders to the two adjacent palaces Beit al-Hukum and Beit al-Sahel (now Palace Museum), allowing the royal ladies to move about unseen. The building has a large central covered courtyard or atrium surrounded by open galleries. Some of the inner doors of the palace are beautifully carved with inscriptions from the Quran. The marble floors and most of the silver decorations inside were imported from Europe.

The Sultan ostensibly kept wild animals chained up for display in front of the building and had the main door made wide enough so that he could ride an elephant through.

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In front of the building once stood a lighthouse which was destroyed during the Anglo-Zanzibar War of 27 August 1896. This brief war also destroyed the Beit al-Hukum Palace and severely damaged the Beit al-Sahel Palace. The House of Wonders suffered only minor damages. During reconstruction in 1897 a new clock tower was integrated into the facade of the building. Beit al-Hukum was not rebuilt; its location was transformed into a garden, increasing the visual dominance of the House of Wonders.

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The House of Wonders was only fully occupied by the Sultan and his harem after the bombardment. In 1911 it was transformed into government offices and as the main secretariat for the British governing authorities. After the Zanzibar Revolution of 1964 it was converted into a school and a museum for the ruling Afro-Shirazi Party with North Korean aid. In 1992–1994 museum development was initiated. Today it serves as a museum and it is one of Stone Town's major tourist attractions.

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Wonderhouse Mac Os Catalina

The House of Wonders Museum, inaugurated in the early 2000s^[5] has permanent exhibits on aspects of the Swahili and Zanzibari culture as well as the East African environment. The inner courtyard is fully occupied by a mtepe (a traditional Swahili boat).^[2] Around this courtyard, developing on three floors, there are several rooms with other exhibits on a variety of subjects, including Swahili fishing tools and traditional ships, ceremonial kangas, portraits of Zanzibari Sultans and other notable Zanzibari people (including a famous portrait of slave trader Tippu Tip), elements of furniture from the Sultans' palaces, as well as information on East African biomes. One of the rooms at ground floor hosts an old car that belonged to president Abeid Karume.^[4] At the entrance of the palace there are two old Portuguese bronze cannons of the 16th century. They were captured by the Persians in 1622 and later donated to the Sultans of Oman, who brought them to Zanzibar. The biggest cannon has the emblem of king John III of Portugal.^[6] Entrance to the Museum is 6.000 Tnz Shillings for adults and 4.000 Tnz Shillings for children, Zanzibar residents are admitted free (as of December 2011).

The House of Wonders had been closed due to disrepair, with large sections of the veranda and roof collapsing in 2012 and 2015, respectively, threatening the structural integrity of the rest of building.^[7] The Museum has moved to another location. Despite the building currently being under a 6 million rehabilitation effort, much of it frontal facade, including the clock tower, has reportedly collapsed in December 2020. This of course came as a shock and a great loss to Zanzibari's as the palace is a part of the regions history and is also a UNESCO heritage site^[8]

Incident[edit]

On 25 December 2020, a mansion which was being renovated after the government of Oman had released the cost of 10 billion shillings collapsed.^[9] Four workers who were trapped inside were rescued by the rescue team, whereas 2 workers lost their lives.^[10] However, with the help of the sketchings and drawings, a similar building will be reconstructed.^[11]

References[edit]

1. ^'Independent Travel Guide to Zanzibar'. www.zanzibar.org. Archived from the original on 6 July 2005.
2. ^ ^ab'House of Wonders Museum'. Archived from the original on 16 November 2012.
3. ^'The Zanzibar Stone Town Tour'. Archived from the original on 17 March 2018. Retrieved 22 November 2010.
4. ^ ^ab'House of Wonders'. Archived from the original on 5 February 2005.
5. ^See Sheriff e Voogt
6. ^See The Stone Town of Zanzibar
7. ^'House of Wonders and Palace Museum'. World Monuments Fund. Archived from the original on 30 September 2020. Retrieved 11 December 2010.
8. ^'Iconic House of Wonders collapse leaves Zanzibaris wondering about fate of cultural heritage'. globalvoices.org. 28 December 2020. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
9. ^'Zanzibar House of Wonders collapses'. The Citizen. 26 December 2020.
10. ^'Two die from collapsed House of Wonders in Zanzibar'. The Citizen. 26 December 2020.
11. ^'Tanzania's landmark House of Wonders partly collapses'. 26 December 2020.

External links[edit]

• Department of Archives, Museums and Antiquities, House of Wonders Museum
• Abdul Sheriff and Paul Voogt, The Zanzibar House of Wonders Museum