Stone Town 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. The former capital of the Zanzibar Sultanate, and flourishing center of the spice trade as well as the slave trade in the 19th century, it retained its importance as the main city of Zanzibar during the period of the British protectorate. 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. Stone Town is a city of prominent historical and artistic importance in East Africa. 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.
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. 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 color. Traditional buildings have a Barraza, 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 best-known feature of Zanzibari houses is the finely decorated wooden doors, with rich carvings and bas-reliefs, sometimes with big brass studs of Indian tradition. 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.
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 motorcycles 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 Zanzibar island harbor is in the heart of Stone Town and regular ferries from Dar es Salaam and Pemba connect the town to the mainland. The main form of public transport in Zanzibar is the daladala share taxis; and the main station is located by the Darajani Market. Dallas connects Stone Town to several island locations, such as Bububu (a village north of Stone Town), the airport, the Amaan Stadium, Jangombe, and Magomeni. The town is also close to the Island’s major airport. Zanzibar Airport, 9 kilometers (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. Transport in the city is pretty good.
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 rainy season from November–December. December–February and May-August and consequently is the peak tourist season due to beach tourism on the island.
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