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. Former capital of the
Zanzibar Sultanate, and flourishing centre 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. 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.