Stone Town

Overview

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. 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. Another key feature of most buildings is large verandas protected by carved wooden balustrades. The most well-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. 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.

Besides having interesting architectural features in most of its houses, 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, about 80% of the 1,709 buildings of Stone Town are in a deteriorating condition. 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).

Omani Dominion

Stone Town is located along a natural harbour and the first Europeans to set foot on the island of Zanzibar were the Portuguese. The Portuguese ruled the island for over 2 centuries and began constructing Stone Town's first stone structure, the Old Fort. However, towards the end of the 17th century the Sultanate of Oman took over the island and completed the fort to prevent future attacks. The first stone houses in Stone Town probably began to be built in the 1830s, gradually replacing an earlier fishing village around the Old Fort. At the time the Sultanate of Oman controlled the Zanzibar Archipelago, Mombasa and the Swahili coast.

In 1840, Sultan Said bin Sultan moved his seat from Muscat, Oman, to Stone Town, which thus entered an era of quick development as the new capital of the Sultanate of Oman and Zanzibar. With the British outlawing the slave trade in the Indian Ocean, the Sultanate's fortunes crashed. The Muscat economy was in shambles and many Omani's migrated to Zanzibar. The increase in the Arab population on the island facilitated further growth and more buildings began to spring up in the town. Furthermore, grand royal structures like the House of Wonders and the Sultan's Palace were also built. In 1861, as a consequence of a war of succession within the Omani royal family, Zanzibar and Oman were separated,4 with Zanzibar becoming an independent sultanate under Sultan Majid bin Said.

In the 19th century Stone Town flourished as a trading centre. It was especially renowned for the commerce of spices (mostly cloves) and slaves. Around middle of the century, the sultanate had a close relationship with the British; David Livingstone, for example, is known to have stayed in Stone Town in 1866 while he was preparing his final expedition into the interior of East Africa. In the same period, several immigrant communities from Oman, Persia and India formed as a consequence of the town's intense commercial activity. The Sultan of Zanzibar encouraged immigration of foreign traders who became very wealthy and settled in the city who brought diversity to the cities architecture.

Colonial Control

In the last decades of the century, the Sultans of Zanzibar gradually lost their possessions in mainland East Africa to the German Empire and the United Kingdom. In 1890, with the Heligoland-Zanzibar Treaty, Zanzibar itself became a British protectorate. In 1896, a sudden rebellion of the Zanzibari Omanis against the British rule led to the Anglo-Zanzibar War, which is remembered as the shortest war in history: the Sultan surrendered after 45 minutes of naval bombardment of Stone Town by the Royal Navy.

During the period of British protection, the Sultan still retained some power and Stone Town remained a relatively important trading centre for the informal trade. Though the town previously had a small railway the British constructed a railway from the Town to Bububu village. The British did not fund major developments in the town and allowed the sultan to manage the islands affairs from stone town. The British gave privileges to Mombasa and Dar es Salaam as their trading stations in East Africa.

Zanzibar Revolution

In 1964, Stone Town was the theater of the Zanzibar Revolution that caused the removal of the sultan and the birth of a socialist government led by the Afro-Shirazi Party (ASP). Over 20,000 people were killed and refugees, especially Arabs and Indians, escaped the island as a consequence of the revolution. The Arabs and Indians left behind everything they had and the ASP quickly occupied old homes and converted them into public buildings. In 1964 when Tanganyika and Zanzibar combined to form Tanzania, Stone Town kept its role as a capital and government seat for Zanzibar, which was declared to be a semi-autonomous part of the new nation.

Geography

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 to Stone Town, is Bagamoyo (to the south-west). Stone Town is part of Zanzibar City, that also comprises the "New City" of Ng'ambo ("the Other Side"), which mostly extends in the interior of Unguja to the south-east. The ideal dividing line between Stone Town and Ng'ambo is Creek Road.

Historical buildings

Transportation

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. 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.

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. 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.

Climate

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 month being December and the coldest month being July. 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. The lesser dry season occurs between December–February and May–August and consequently is the peak tourist season month due to beach tourism on the island.

Famous residents