236 Hurumzi (formerly Emerson & Green)
236 Hurumzi
The house in which the hotel now stands was thought to have been constructed in the mid 1800s for an Oman merchant. Tharia Topan, principal financial adviser to Sultan Bargash and Head of Customs, constructed the front section of the building in the 1870s. Topan was sometimes called the Bismarck of the Swahili Empire and was dubbed Sir Tharia Topan by the King of England.
Later on in 1883, when the slave trade was officially abolished in Zanzibar, many Arabs refused to simply let their slaves go free since they had bought and paid for them. So the British Authorities offered to reimburse the Arabs for freeing their slaves. These transactions took place in the building which is now Emersons and Green hotel. The name of the street, Hurumzi, originated from this. Huru-muuze means "let him free".
The building was sold to the Roman Catholic Mission in the late 1880s to house the Archbishop. From 1914 to 1967 it passed through both Ismaili and Arab hands until it was nationalised by the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar in 1967. It was then divided among poor Swahili families who rented it from the Zanzibar Ministry of Housing. It later fell into a pitiful state of repair.
Meet Maturaf, Sajiddah and the team at Zenith Tours & Travel Ltd., your local connection in Zanzibar. As locals, we are keen to show you the best that Zanzibar has to offer, and we take great pride in the island's culture, history, natural environment and, of course, the famous spices that Zanzibar is renowned for. We've created a number of initiatives to ensure that the local people benefit from tourism, and that the rich tapestry of Zanzibari culture and history is kept alive.
