Zanzibar Coffee House

The Zanzibar Coffee House is a four-storey merchant home defined by its substantial, original teak-wood doors and intricate carved window frames. Constructed in eighteen eighty-five, it served as the residence of Sir Tharia Topan, an influential businessman who acted as Wazir to Sultan Said Bargash. At the time of its completion, Topan was among the wealthiest private figures along the East African coast, and the architecture of his house reflects the status of a man positioned at the center of the island’s spice-trading history.