Zanzibar Town, on the western side of the island, is the heart of the archipelago, and the first stop for most travellers. It is divided into two halves by Creek Road, once a creek that separated Stone Town (Mji Mkongwe) from ‘The Other Side’ or Ng’ambo, where a small community of slaves once lived and which now accommodates the growing new city with its offices, apartment blocks and slums.
If Zanzibar Town is the archipelago’s heart, Stone Town is its soul. Walk through its alleyways overhung with wooden balconies and faces from every shore of the Indian Ocean and you’ll easily loose yourself in centuries of history. Each twist and turn brings something new, be it a school full of children chanting verses from the Quran, an abandoned Persian bathhouse or a coffee vendor with his long-spouted pot fastened over coals. Then there are the ghosts. Stone Town was host to one of the world’s last open slave markets and stories of cruelty still strike at the conscience.
While the best part of Stone Town is simply letting it unfold before you, it’s worth taking one of the recommended tours to really connect with local residents and appreciate its richly textured history.
Read more: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/tanzania/zanzibar-archipelago/zanzibar-unguja#ixzz3jMIpeWZT
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