CH AP TER I
GENERAL DESCRIPTION AND CLIMATOLOGY OF ZANZIBAR
In search of an Hotel— Sir Lloyd Mathews—Interview with the Sultan—-
Kinabuni Garden— Sketch of Zanzibar Island— Position— Structure
and Soil— Rain-fall and Temperature— My Plans.
ON Wednesday, March 16, 1892, I arrived at Zanzibar at
daybreak, having made the passage from Mombasa in the
s.s. Ethiopia, and, like all persons approaching it from the
sea, I was struck by the handsome appearance of this tropical
island-town, with its frontage of white houses, public buildings
and mosques, which conceal the lower portions of the town
from view, whilst rising conspicuous above all are the tall
clock-tower, the large square palace of the Sultan,1 and the
British and foreign Consulates.
Hearing that her Majesty’s Agent and Consul-General, the
late Sir Gerald Portal, was leaving at 9 a.m. for Mombasa,
I went ashore at 7.30, and had a brief interview with him;
he regretted the necessity of his departure, but had advised
the Sultan of my expected arrival, and had requested an
interview for me.
After returning to the Ethiopia for breakfast, I again came
on shore, this time with my belongings and the five porters
I had brought with me from Mombasa, and to my surprise
made quite a sensation as I proceeded through the town in
1 Both these buildings have since been almost completely destroyed
by the bombardment from our ships during the brief usurpation of 1896.
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