Today you will be able to read the about Stone Town, the historical center of the capital of Zanzibar, a part of UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the biggest tourist attractions of the island. The town cannot be described in one article, so in this part we will focus on the history and general atmosphere. Our next steps would be monuments, people, food and culture.
The Stone Town of Zanzibar is a fine example of the Swahili coastal trading towns of East Africa. It retains its urban fabric and townscape virtually intact and contains many fine buildings that reflect its particular culture, which has brought together and homogenized disparate elements of the cultures of Africa, the Arab region, India, and Europe over more than a millennium.
On the website of UNESCO's World Heritage Convention, you can find such an explanation for its choice:
Criterion ii : The Stone Town of Zanzibar is an outstanding material manifestation of cultural fusion and harmonization.
Criterion iii : For many centuries there was intense seaborne trading activity between Asia and Africa, and this is illustrated in an exceptional manner by the architecture and urban structure of the Stone Town.
Criterion vi : Zanzibar has great symbolic importance in the suppression of slavery, since it was one of the main slave-trading ports in East Africa and also the base from which its opponents such as David Livingstone conducted their campaign.
Some bit of history would be appropriate in the first place. In the beginning, there was a loose confederation of small coastal city states known as the Zenj bar (Black Empire) which operated in the 8th-10th centuries. The best preserved of these towns is Zanzibar, the name of which is derived from the Perso-Arabic word meaning "the coast of the blacks."
The Swahili economy was destabilized with the arrival of the Portuguese at the end of the 15th century. Following Vasco de Gama's visit in 1499 on his return from India, the Portuguese established a loose suzerainty over the Swahili coast as part of their trading activities. They were forced to settle it permanently when they were challenged by the Turks and later by rival European powers. However, Portuguese influence was limited, and came to an end at the end of the 17th century, when they were driven out of Fort Jesus at Mombasa.
The Portuguese trading role was gradually taken over by Omani Arabs, dealing in grain, dried fish, ivory, and slaves. The slave trade did not assume large proportions until the later 18th century, when they were required in large numbers for the French sugar plantations in the islands of the Indian Ocean and the Caribbean. Dislocation of the slave trade as a result of wars between the English and the French in the early 19th century led to a substantial proportion of them being used in the clove plantations on Zanzibar Island.
The Arab ascendancy came to an end with the 1964 revolution and the creation of the United Republic of Tanzania. It led to many profound social and economic changes. Many of the wealthiest Arab and Indian merchants and craftsmen left the country, abandoning their fine houses and commercial buildings. Immigrants from rural areas and the neighbouring island of Pemba were settled by the government in these buildings.
Today, Stone Town is a city that finds it's way into ones heart. Each day spent here can be an endless exploration of alleyways, foods and locals culture. Stone Town is located on the biggest of the islands of the archipelago - Unguja, usually referred to as Zanzibar. Nowadays it is a mixture of people from the Middle East, Asia and mainland Africa, but most of them identify themselves as Zanzibari before they identify themselves as African. One can find here a way of life that is replicated in very, very few places in the world.
The town is an acient relic of architecture and way of life, it is also very much alive and in the contemporary world. Music is an important part of today's culture, especially taarab, which is the mix of music styles from Middle East, Chine, Egypt and Africa, but also most recently Europe (incorporation of violin) and bongo flava, Tanzania's interpretation of hip hop with an overwhelming influence of American hip hop and the lyrics all sung in Swahili. All the sounds and beats one can experience in waterfront restaurants, but it is definitely better to seek contact with locals and try some night long parties.
Stown Town is a city with one foot in the past and one firmly planting and forever adapting in the present world.
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