Map of Stone Town

Stone town and its buildings are full of history and stories of the old times in Zanzibar, when Sultans, Arabs, Europeans, and Zanzibari wrote the history of this beautiful island. 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.

It is an ancient town, impoverished and disheveled with much to recommend and much that could be improved! The ancient palaces and forts, balconies, and ancient carved, wooden doors tell some of the stories of its great past. Any visit to Zanzibar island would not be the same without a little exploring here.