Zanzibar: For a short time, the small island in the Indian Ocean was German territory of influence, but never a colony. Nevertheless, we still get shiny eyes when the name Zanzibar is mentioned. There is something magical about the name. But what was it actually like when the first Germans arrived here more than a century ago? Thirty authors report on Zanzibar: explorers, merchants, doctors, nurses and pharmacists, diplomats and artists. This creates an impressive picture of the city and the island in their heyday. Erich Meffert has lived here for many years and is an expert on the country and its people. With wisdom and perhaps with more than a twinkle in his eye, he has compiled these long-lost documents from the German era, which provide a view of the present and the past in equal measure better than any other source.