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Recursion

(56,582 posts)
Mon Jan 30, 2023, 12:06 AM Jan 2023

The Indo-Islamic doors in Stone Town, Zanzibar

I just got back from a vacation in Tanzania. Anybody who wants to see the big animals can look at my thread in the Photography group; I thought I'd share with the lounge some of the Indo-Islamic carved doors I saw in Zanzibar.

Zanzibar is an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, it is the "zan" in "Tanzania", which is a combination of Tanganyika, the mainland, and Zanzibar, the islands. It was part of the Sultanate of Oman for centuries, then was run by the Persians, then the British, and then was independent for 12 days before joining with Tanganyika to make Tanzania in the 1960s.

The culture is a mish-mash of Swahili, Arab, Indian, Persian, and European. So the food is great. But one architectural feature that really stands out is the carved wooden doors in old town. Most of them are local mahogany (it grows all over the island).



This one has the classic onion-shaped transom (is it still a "transom" if it's opaque? I don't know)



This is the straight lintel but with the mahogany burnished to appear gilt



This is a gorgeous non-burnished one. This one is a yoga studio inside.



This spiked design is popular especially on doors facing the main streets (most of these doors are on little twisty alleyways cars can't get to).



Even when the doors themselves have been replaced with plain modern ones the frames are kept up.



This one is actually gilt, not just burnished.



This is a gorgeous one in total disrepair, unfortunately, and whoever put that Paris-style enamel number on it should be beaten.



And finally, while the childhood home of Freddie Mercury doesn't have this kind of door, they incorporated the style of carving into the poster frame on the wall. (Unfortunately the museum itself is kind of a dud.)

Anyways just thought you guys might like to see this little corner of the world.

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The Indo-Islamic doors in Stone Town, Zanzibar (Original Post) Recursion Jan 2023 OP
Magnificent carving! Bayard Jan 2023 #1
Amazing. 2naSalit Jan 2023 #2
Thanks for posting! OAITW r.2.0 Jan 2023 #3
I remember moniss Jan 2023 #4

Bayard

(21,806 posts)
1. Magnificent carving!
Mon Jan 30, 2023, 12:20 AM
Jan 2023

I also like the large-headed iron nails. You see them a lot in the Southwest here. They're called, clavos.

OAITW r.2.0

(23,862 posts)
3. Thanks for posting!
Mon Jan 30, 2023, 02:08 AM
Jan 2023

That gilded door set is particularly sweet. Can't imagine what such a creation would cost if made in the States...

moniss

(3,949 posts)
4. I remember
Mon Jan 30, 2023, 02:53 AM
Jan 2023

buying various wooden household items from alt lifestyle shops back in the '60s that had such carving. Mainly jewelry boxes, hinged multi-panel room dividers/screens, small decorative tables etc.

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