‘Dr Livingstone, I presume?’ This is the immortal phrase with which Stanley greeted Dr. Livingstone after Livingstone had been missing for five years. He was suffering from dysentery and Stanley saved his life.
Livingstone was born near Glasgow, Scotland. He was a preacher, doctor, anti-slave campaigner and explorer. He crossed the Kalahari desert and was the first European to see lake Nyasa and this huge wall of water which he named Victoria Falls.
Stone Town was the main departure point for European explorers in the 19th century. It’s from here that Livingstone set off to explore the area between Lake Nyasa and Lake Tanganyika in search of the source of the Nile. This journey ended with the immortal phrase. This meeting of Livingstone and Stanley took place in Ujiji, 10 km south east of Kigoma on the shores of Lake Tanganyika. Stanley went back to Zanzibar but Livingstone stayed behind and set off on his fifth and last expedition. In 1873 he died of dysentery. His heart was removed by his servant who buried it under the tree where he died. His embalmed body was shipped to London where he was buried in Westminster Abbey with Stanley as one of the pall bearers.
Livingstone House on Gulioni Road is the headquarters of the Zanzibar Tourist Corporation. In the 19th century it was used as a rest house for explorers and missionaries, Livingstone was one of them.
A very friendly official welcomed me, fetched the key, switched on the fan and said I could see everything at leisure. The museum consists of one room, dedicated to Livingstone. Photos and text tell about his explorations and life.