STONE TOWN INTRODUCTION The largest town in the archipelago is
the capital, Stone Town, located in the middle of the west coast
of Unguja, the main island. The town was named for the coral
stone buildings that were built there largely during the 19th
century, on the site of a very old fishing village. There are
over 16,000 people in the town today, and over 1,700 recorded
buildings. Tall houses line narrow alleyways set in a confusing
maze radiating out from the centre towards the sea.The streets
are too narrow for cars but not, unfortunately, for bicycles and
even motorbikes, so be careful! Life is lived very much as it
was in the past and the many mosques’ muezzin calls can be heard
echoing above the narrow streets five times daily. The
architecture is Arabic, which means the walls are very thick,
the houses tall and with square and simple facades. Many of the
buildings have a central courtyard going up through all the
floors, giving ventilation. Decoration has been added, usually
by Indian craftsmen, in th