Stone Town, Zanzibar

The old quarter of Zanzibar City, a Swahili trading town blending Arab, Persian, Indian and European influences.

It was the capital of the Sultanate of Zanzibar and a flourishing centre of the spice trade and, in the 19th century, of the Indian Ocean slave trade. Its buildings, mostly from the 19th century, mix Arab, Persian, Indian, European and African elements. Most of its streets are too narrow for cars, so it is crowded with bicycles and motorbikes.

Doors, benches and verandas

Traditional houses have a baraza, a long stone bench along the outside wall, which serves as a raised sidewalk when heavy rains flood the streets, and as a place to sit and chat. Large verandas have carved wooden balustrades. The best-known feature is the finely carved wooden doors, sometimes with big brass studs in the Indian tradition. Indian-style doors have rounded tops and Omani Arab ones are rectangular. Carvings often show verses of the Quran, and Indian lotus flowers appear as emblems of prosperity.

From fishing village to capital

Stone Town grew from Shangani, a small Swahili fishing site founded in the 11th century. The Portuguese ruled the island for over two centuries and began its first stone building, the Old Fort. Omanis took over at the end of the 17th century and completed it in 1699. In 1824 Sultan Said bin Sultan moved his seat from Muscat to Stone Town, and from 1840 to 1856 it was the capital of the Omani empire. The first stone houses probably went up in the early 1800s.

Landmarks and caring for the old town

The House of Wonders, built in 1883, was the first building in Zanzibar with electricity and the first in East Africa with an elevator. The Anglican cathedral stands on the site of a big slave market, and a monument and museum nearby remember its history. Forodhani Gardens fills with a seafood market in the evening. Coral stone is very friable, and about 80 percent of the 1,709 buildings are in a deteriorating condition, so restoration, including projects by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, is needed.

On the globe

The model shows the old town beside the sea. Look for the old fort and the narrow lanes.