MARUHUBI'S PALACE RUINS
This palace near a small beach was intended to house the nearly 100 women of the sultan chosen among the slaves.
The palace is located just a few steps from a small local beach. The palace was bought by Sultan Saïd Bargash from an Arab of the Mahurubis tribe, who gave it his name, and rebuilt in 1880 before being burnt down in 1889. A stone aqueduct had been built to supply the baths and for irrigation. The palace was intended to house the sultan's almost 100 wives, chosen from among the slaves. The sultan would visit the women during the day. According to legend, he would ask them to swim naked before him. He also needed one woman a day. When the palace was destroyed by fire in 1899, the women escaped and once again became free women (or almost...). What remains of the palace are the large stone columns that once supported a large wooden balcony around the upper floor. What remained of the palace and all its riches (marble, gilding...) was looted in 1964, during the revolution. You can still visit the Persian-style baths in the palace, with separate bathrooms for women and the main bathroom, that of the sultan. All around the site are mango trees imported from India. There are also vast lawns and period water cisterns, now overgrown with water lilies. A little further north of Maruhubi Palace is Kibweni Palace, which from 1905 to 1929 was linked to the city by a railroad.
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