As a primary trading post on the spice, silk, and slave trade routes for over a millennium, Mji Mkongwe, known as Stone Town, has been a unique meeting place for centuries and is now one of the few remaining ancient towns in Africa. We wandered for hours through a maze of narrow streets, easily losing ourselves in centuries of history.
Stone Town’s history spans centuries, but it gained prominence in the 19th century as a vital centre for the spice and slave trades, fostering a unique blend of Arab, Indian, and European architectural and cultural influences that is still evident today. The Portuguese were the first to build stone structures in the 1500s, followed by the Omani Arabs in the 1600s, who built the Old Fort and established the city as a central trading hub. Stone Town experienced significant wealth and expansion in the 1800s, but was the site of the 1964 Zanzibar Revolution, which led to the removal of the Sultan and the establishment of a new government. In 2000, it was recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage site for its rich historical and cultural significance.
It is a fine example of the Swahili coastal trading towns of East Africa. It retains its urban fabric and townscape virtually intact. It contains many fine buildings that reflect its particular culture, which has brought together and homogenised disparate elements of the cultures of Africa, the Arab region, India, and Europe over more than a millennium.
