The islands of Zanzibar and Pemba lie twenty miles off the East African coast just south of the equator and are primarily known for the export of cloves and more recently for exotic holidays. But just over forty years ago Zanzibar underwent a revolution that saw a major uprising overthrow the then Sultan Jamshid bin Abdullah and envelop the two islands in a Marxist regime that lasted until the fall of communism in 1989. However, Zanzibar can claim the honour of building the first railway in East Africa in 1875.
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