Stonetown of Zanzibar (Arabic: مدينة زنجبار الحجرية, romanized: madīnat Zanjibār al-ḥajariyya), also known as Mji Mkongwe (Swahili for 'old town'), is the old part of Zanzibar City, the main city of Zanzibar, in Tanzania. The newer portion of the city is known as Ng'ambo, Swahili for 'the other side'. Stone Town is located on the western coast of Unguja, the main island of the Zanzibar Archipelago. Former capital of the Zanzibar Sultanate, and flourishing centre of the spice trade as well as the Indian Ocean slave trade in the 19th century, it retained its importance as the main city of Zanzibar during the period of the British protectorate.[1] When Tanganyika and Zanzibar joined each other to form the United Republic of Tanzania, Zanzibar kept a semi-autonomous status, with Stone Town as its local government seat.
UNESCO World Heritage Site | |
---|---|
Location | Zanzibar City, Tanzania |
Criteria | Cultural: ii, iii, vi |
Reference | 173 |
Inscription | 2000 (24th Session) |
Area | 96 ha |
Buffer zone | 84.79 ha |
Coordinates | 6°09′45″S 39°11′29″E / 6.1624°S 39.1913°E |
Location of Stone Town in Tanzania |
Stone Town is a city of prominent historical and artistic importance in East Africa. Its architecture, mostly dating back to the 19th century, reflects the diverse influences underlying the Swahili culture, giving a unique mixture of Arab, Persian, Indian and European elements. For this reason, the town was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000.[2]
Due to its heritage, Stone Town is also a major visitor attraction in Tanzania, and a large part of its economy depends on tourism-related activities.[3]
The heart of Stone Town mostly consists of a maze of narrow alleys lined by houses, shops, bazaars and mosques. Since most streets are too narrow for cars, the town is crowded with bicycles and motorbikes. The seafront has wider streets and larger, more regularly placed buildings.
Stone Town's architecture has a number of distinctive features, as a result of Arab, Persian, Indian, European, and African traditions mixing together. The name "Stone Town" comes from the ubiquitous use of coral stone as the main construction material; this stone gives the town a characteristic, reddish warm colour.[4][5] Traditional buildings have a baraza, a long stone bench along the outside walls; this is used as an elevated sidewalk if heavy rains make the streets impracticable, or otherwise as benches to sit down, rest, socialize.[6] Another key feature of most buildings is large verandas protected by carved wooden balustrades. The best-known feature of Zanzibari houses are the finely decorated wooden doors, with rich carvings and bas-reliefs, sometimes with big brass studs of Indian tradition.[5] Two main types of doors can be distinguished: those of Indian style have rounded tops, while those in the Omani Arab style are rectangular. Carvings are often Islamic in content (for example, many consist of verses of the Qur'an), but other symbolism is occasionally used, e.g., Indian lotus flowers as emblems of prosperity.[4]
Stone Town is punctuated with major historical buildings, several of which are found on the seafront; these include former palaces of the sultans, fortifications, churches, mosques, and other institutional buildings.
While Stone Town was included in UNESCO's World Heritage Sites in 2000, this designation does not provide complete protection for the town's heritage. Despite the establishment of a Conservation Authority,[5] about 80% of the 1,709 buildings of Stone Town are in a deteriorating condition.[7] As coral stone is very friable, frequent maintenance is needed for most of these buildings. Some major restoration projects (especially on the seafront) have been done in recent times by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC).
Sultanate of Kilwa before 1503
Portuguese Empire 1503–1698
Sultanate of Oman 1698–1856
Sultanate of Zanzibar 1856–1890
British Empire 1890–1963
Republic of Zanzibar 1964
Tanzania 1964–present
Stone Town is located roughly in the middle of the west coast of Unguja, on a small promontory protruding into the Zanzibar Channel. The closest major settlement on the Tanzanian coast, opposite Stone Town, is Bagamoyo (to the south-west).[20] Stone Town is part of Zanzibar City, which also includes the 'New City' of Ng'ambo ("the Other Side"), which mostly extends in the interior of Unguja to the south-east. The dividing line between Stone Town and Ng'ambo is Creek Road, later renamed to Benjamin Mkapa Road, marking the west side of the now reclaimed creek that separated them.[21]
Year | Pop. | ±% |
---|---|---|
1870 Est. | 10,000 | — |
1948 | 16,698 | +67.0% |
1958 | 18,179 | +8.9% |
1978 | 15,493 | −14.8% |
1988 | 15,854 | +2.3% |
2008 | 15,000 | −5.4% |
2016 Est. | 16,000 | +6.7% |
The streets in Stone Town are very narrow and almost getting anywhere within the town must be done on foot. The narrow streets provide shade and almost everything is accessible from within the town. However, on slightly wider roads historically bicycles and now most recently motor cycles are used to transport people and goods. The town is accessible from Zanzibar and the rest of the region through three possible ports of entry.
The main form of public transport in Zanzibar are the daladala share taxis; and the main station is located by the Darajani Market. Daladalas connect Stone Town to several island locations, such as Bububu (a village north of Stone Town), the airport, the Amaan Stadium, Jangombe, and Magomeni, Zanzibar.[32] For longer trips, "mabasi" (Swahili for "bus", singular "basi") are available, which are trucks adapted for passenger transport. The main "mabasi" station is also close to the Market and the "mabasi" network stretch across the entire island and is the cheapest form of long-distance transit.[33]
The main Zanzibar island harbour is in the heart of Stone Town and regular ferries from Dar es Salaam and Pemba connect the town to the mainland.[34] The town is also in close proximity to the Island's major airport. Zanzibar Airport, 9 kilometres (5.6 miles) south of Stone Town has flights to mainland Tanzania (especially Arusha and Dar es Salaam) as well as other African main airports such as Nairobi, Mombasa, and Johannesburg.[35]
Stone Town along with the entire Zanzibar Archipelago experiences a similar climate throughout the year. The island has a hot tropical weather all year round with the hottest months being February and March and the cooler months being July and August. During most months of the year there is significant rainfall with a long rain season spanning from March–May and a shorter rain season from November–December.[36] The lesser dry season occurs between December–February and May–August and consequently is the peak tourist season due to beach tourism on the island.
Climate data for Stone Town | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high °C (°F) | 35 (95) |
38 (100) |
38 (100) |
34 (93) |
33 (91) |
32 (90) |
31 (88) |
31 (88) |
32 (90) |
32 (90) |
36 (97) |
34 (93) |
38 (100) |
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 32 (90) |
32 (90) |
32 (90) |
31 (88) |
30 (86) |
29 (84) |
29 (84) |
29 (84) |
30 (86) |
31 (88) |
31 (88) |
32 (90) |
31 (87) |
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 24 (75) |
24 (75) |
25 (77) |
25 (77) |
23 (73) |
23 (73) |
22 (72) |
22 (72) |
22 (72) |
22 (72) |
23 (73) |
24 (75) |
23 (74) |
Record low °C (°F) | 18 (64) |
22 (72) |
16 (61) |
19 (66) |
18 (64) |
19 (66) |
18 (64) |
18 (64) |
14 (57) |
14 (57) |
15 (59) |
16 (61) |
14 (57) |
Average rainfall mm (inches) | 53.7 (2.11) |
53.9 (2.12) |
116.0 (4.57) |
178.6 (7.03) |
131.8 (5.19) |
35.3 (1.39) |
29.5 (1.16) |
23.9 (0.94) |
14.8 (0.58) |
52.0 (2.05) |
75.9 (2.99) |
80.9 (3.19) |
846.3 (33.32) |
Average rainy days | 5 | 5 | 8 | 11 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 9 | 8 | 71 |
Source: MSN Weather[37][38] |
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