Location | Tanzania, Pwani Region, Bagamoyo District, Bagamoyo |
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Coordinates | 6°26′40″S 38°54′10″E / 6.44444°S 38.90278°E |
Type | Settlement |
History | |
Material | Coral rag |
Founded | 8th century |
Cultures | Swahili |
Site notes | |
Condition | Endangered |
Ownership | Tanzanian Government |
Management | Antiquities Division, Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism[1] |
Architecture | |
Architectural styles | Swahili, Omani and German |
Official name | Bagamoyo Historic Town |
Type | Cultural |
Bagamoyo Historic Town or Bagamoyo Stone Town (Mji wa Kale wa Bagamoyo au Mji Mkongwe wa Bagamoyo, In Swahili), is the historic section of Bagamoyo town in Bagamoyo District of Pwani Region. Due to its historic significance spanning centuries and empires, Old Bagamoyo is a National Historic Site of Tanzania. The settlement was first inhabited in the 8th century as a Zaramo village and then a Swahili stone settlement, satellite to Kaole.[2] One of the most significant trading hubs on the coast of East Africa, Bagamoyo served as the last halt for ivory caravans making their way on foot from Lake Tanganyika to Zanzibar.