World Heritage Identification Number: 173
World Heritage since: 2000
Category: Cultural Heritage
Transboundary Heritage: No
Endangered Heritage: No
Country: 🇹🇿 United Republic of Tanzania
Continent: Africa
UNESCO World Region: Africa
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The Stone Town of Zanzibar: A Cultural Melting Pot of East Africa
The Stone Town of Zanzibar, officially recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2000, stands as a testament to the rich cultural history of East Africa. Nestled on the western coast of Unguja, the primary island of the Zanzibar Archipelago, this ancient city serves as the old quarter of Zanzibar City, the principal metropolis of Zanzibar, in Tanzania. Known locally as Mji Mkongwe, the Stone Town retains its original urban structure and townscape almost completely intact, offering a unique glimpse into the blending of diverse African, Arabian, Indian, and European cultures over more than a thousand years.
More to come…UNESCO Description of the World Heritage Site
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.
UNESCO Justification of the World Heritage Site
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.
Encyclopedia Record: Stone Town
Stonetown of Zanzibar, also known as Mji Mkongwe, 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. 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.Additional Site Details
Area: 96 hectares
(iii) — Unique or exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition
(vi) — Directly associated with events or living traditions
Coordinates: -6.16306 , 39.18917
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