Stone Town of Zanzibar
Mji Mkongwe · Stone City · Mji wa Zamani
Swahili to Omani and British (Swahili settlement 16th c; Omani capital 1832–1964)·Swahili / Omani Arab / Persian / Indian (Bohra) / British colonial·🇹🇿 Mjini Magharibi Region (Zanzibar), Tanzania
No machine-readable author provided. Mbz1 assumed (based on copyright claims). · CC BY-SA 3.0
About
About Stone Town of Zanzibar
Swahili stone town capital of Omani Zanzibar sultanate (1832–1964), Stone Town preserves coral-stone labyrinth: House of Wonders (Beit al-Ajaib 1883 Persian-slave-built), Old Fort (Portuguese 1710), Sultan's Palace Beit al-Sahel, Jamat khana, narrow alleys, carved wooden doors with brass studs, and the shame site: Former Slave Market cathedral built over underground chambers where 50,000 per year passed (cloves plantation/slave trade hub). Unesco 2000; still living city 16,000 residents.
Why it mattersBest-preserved Swahili coastal town and Omani slave-trade testimony
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Extent of earlier Swahili settlement beneath Omani stone town
- 02Survival of intangible tarab music and door-carving craft despite modern pressure
Theories
- 01Zanzibar clove monoculture under Omani plantation economy fuelled stone town expansion until 19th c slave abolition
- 02Architectural hybridity as creolisation model (Myers)
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- Stone Town core 18th–19th c; Oman moved capital 1832 under Said bin Sultan
- Period
- Swahili to Omani and British (Swahili settlement 16th c; Omani capital 1832–1964)
- Culture
- Swahili / Omani Arab / Persian / Indian (Bohra) / British colonial
- Purpose
- Indian Ocean clove and slave trade emporium; Omani empire's economic capital
- Excavation
- Excavation ongoing
Stone Town core 18th–19th c; Oman moved capital 1832 under Said bin Sultan
Initial construction
c. 1551 CE
Rediscovery
On the ground
Structures & features
6.1650° S · 39.1883° E · 20 m · 3 mapped features
House of Wonders (Beit al-Ajaib)
palace1883 four-storey palace with clock tower, first electricity and lift in East Africa
6.1631° S · 39.1886° EOld Fort (Ngome Kongwe)
fortressPortuguese 1710 fort later Omani, 22×30 m walls with coral curtain, now cultural centre
6.1625° S · 39.1892° ECathedral of Christ Church and Slave Chambers
church1873 Anglican cathedral built over slave holding chambers with altar over whipping post
6.1655° S · 39.1905° E
Gallery