A megalith is a large stone that has been used to construct a prehistoric structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. There are over 35,000 in Europe alone, located widely from Sweden to the Mediterranean sea.
The ruins of Gedi are a historical and archaeological site near the Indian Ocean coast of eastern Kenya. The site is adjacent to the town of Gedi in the Kilifi District and within the Arabuko-Sokoke Forest.
Kilwa Kisiwani is an island, national historic site, and hamlet community located in the township of Kilwa Masoko, the district seat of Kilwa District in the Tanzanian region of Lindi Region in southern Tanzania. Kilwa Kisiwani is the largest of the nine hamlets in the town Kilwa Masoko and is also the least populated hamlet in the township with less than 1,000 residents. At its peak Kilwa hosted over 10,000 inhabitants in the Middle Ages. Since 1981 the entire island of Kilwa Kisiwani has been designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site along with the nearby ruins of Songo Mnara. Despite its significant historic reputation, Kilwa Kisiwani is still home to a small and resilient community of native residents that have inhabited the island for centuries. Kilwa Kisiwani is one of the seven World Heritage Sites located in Tanzania. Additionally, the site is a registered National Historic Site.
Swahili architecture is a term used to designate a whole range of diverse building traditions practiced or once practiced along the eastern and southeastern coasts of Africa. Rather than simple derivatives of Islamic architecture from the Arabic world, Swahili stone architecture is a distinct local product as a result of evolving social and religious traditions, environmental changes, and urban development.
Swahili culture is the culture of the Swahili people inhabiting the Swahili coast. This littoral area encompasses Tanzania, Kenya, and Mozambique, as well as the adjacent islands of Zanzibar and Comoros and some parts of Malawi. They speak Swahili as their native language, which belongs to the Bantu language family. Graham Connah described Swahili culture as at least partially urban, mercantile, literate, and Islamic.
The Ajuran Sultanate, also natively referred-to as Ajuuraan, and often simply Ajuran, was a Somali Empire in the Middle Ages in the Horn of Africa that dominated the trade in the northern Indian ocean. They belonged to the Somali Muslim sultanate that ruled over large parts of the Horn of Africa in the Middle Ages. Through a strong centralized administration and an aggressive military stance towards invaders, the Ajuran Empire successfully resisted an Oromo invasion from the west and a Portuguese incursion from the east during the Gaal Madow and the Ajuran-Portuguese wars. Trading routes dating from the ancient and early medieval periods of Somali maritime enterprise were strengthened or re-established, and foreign trade and commerce in the coastal provinces flourished with ships sailing to and coming from many kingdoms and empires in East Asia, South Asia, Europe, the Near East, North Africa and East Africa.
The Great Mosque of Kilwa is a congregational mosque on the island of Kilwa Kisiwani, in Kilwa Masoko in Kilwa District in Lindi Region of Tanzania. It was likely founded in the tenth century, but the two major stages of construction date to the eleventh or twelfth and thirteenth century, respectively. It is one of the earliest surviving mosques on the Swahili coast and is one of the first mosques built without a courtyard.
The Swahili coast is a coastal area of the Indian Ocean in East Africa inhabited by the Swahili people. It includes Dar es Salaam; Sofala ; Mombasa, Gede, Pate Island, Lamu, and Malindi ; and Kilwa. In addition, several coastal islands are included in the Swahili coast such as Zanzibar and Comoros.
Tumbatu is historic Swahili settlement located on Tumbatu Island, Kaskazini A District of Unguja North Region in Tanzania. This site is a significant archaeological site that contains a large number of collapsed coral stone structures including private houses and several mosques, the largest of which is located on the shore facing the village of Mkokotoni on Unguja. Pearce initially looked into the ruins in 1915 and wrote about the mosques, palace, and other stone homes.
Somali architecture is the engineering and designing of multiple different construction types such as stone cities, castles, citadels, fortresses, mosques, temples, aqueducts, lighthouses, towers and tombs during the ancient, medieval and early modern periods in Somalia and other regions inhabited by Somalis, as well as the fusion of Somalo-Islamic architecture with Western designs in contemporary times.
Hannassa is a proto-Somali historic town in southern Somalia.
Kaole is a national historic site located in Bagamoyo District of Pwani Region in Tanzania. The site is located three miles east of the historic city of Bagamoyo on the Indian Ocean coast. The area contains old Swahili coral stone ruins dating to a period between the 13th century and the 16th century. Some of the ruins date back to the 13th century and consist of two mosques and 30 tombs.
Tourism in Somalia is regulated by the Federal Government of Somalia's Ministry of Tourism. The industry was traditionally noted for its numerous historical sites, beaches, waterfalls, mountain ranges and national parks. After the start of the civil war in the early 1990s, the Tourism Ministry shut down operations. It was re-established in the 2000s, and once again oversees the national tourist industry. The Mogadishu-based Somali Tourism Association (SOMTA) provides on-the-ground consulting services.
Koyama is an island in southern Somalia, in the region of Jubaland.
Songo Mnara is a historic Swahiili settlement in located on Songo Mnara Island in Pande Mikoma, Kilwa District in Lindi Region of Tanzania. The island is home to a Medieval Swahili stone town. The stone town was occupied from the 14th to 16th centuries. Songo Mnara has been recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, along with nearby stone town Kilwa Kisiwani. In total, archaeologists have found six mosques, four cemeteries, and two dozen house blocks along with three enclosed open spaces on the island. Songo Mnara was constructed from rough-coral and mortar. This stonetown was built as one of many trade towns on the Indian Ocean. The site is a registered National Historic Site.
Miandi is a proto-Somali small town in the southern Lower Juba province of Somalia.
Rasini, also known as Kikoni, is a small town in the southern Lower Juba province of Somalia.
Shanga is an archaeological site located in Pate Island off the Eastern Coast of Africa. The site covers about 15 hectares. Shanga was excavated during an eight-year period in which archaeologists examined Swahili origins. The archaeological evidence in the form of coins, pottery, glass and beads all suggest that a Swahili community inhabited the area during the eighth century. Evidence from the findings also indicates that the site was a Muslim trading community that had networks in Asia.
Pemba Island is a large coral island off the coast of Tanzania. Inhabited by Bantu settlers from the Tanga coast since 600 AD, the island has a rich trading, agricultural, and religious history that has contributed to the studies of the Swahili Coast trade throughout the Indian Ocean.
Mkia wa Ng'ombe Ruins is protected historic site located inside Micheweni District of Pemba North Region in Tanzania. The settlement was established around the 15th CE and abandoned in the 16th century. There are ruins of a mosque, tombs and some stone buildings. The site is critically endangered to further erosion.
