Explore the beautiful town of Stone Town or Mji Mkongwe in Swahili meaning "ancient town" is the old part of Zanzibar City the capital of the island of Unguja, informally known as Zanzibar, part of Tanzania. It may not have a particularly romantic name, but Stone Town is an old city and cultural heart of Zanzibar. Little has changed in the last 200 years. It is a place of winding alleys, bustling bazaars, mosques and grand Arab houses whose original owners vied with each other over the extravagance of their properties.

Two large buildings dominate the main front of Stone Town. One is Beit-El-Ajaib or the House of Wonders, which was built by Sultan Seyyid Barghash as a grand palace for ceremonial purposes. The other is the Arab Fort which stands on the site of a former Portuguese settlement and was converted to a fort during the 18th Century. For many years Stone Town was a major centre for the slave trade; Slaves were obtained from mainland Africa and traded with the Middle East.