Stone Town is the old quarter of Zanzibar City on the western shore of Unguja, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2000. It grew rapidly after the Omani sultan moved his court here in the 1830s, and its coral-stone buildings, narrow lanes and carved wooden doors record the Swahili, Arab, Persian, Indian and European influences of a nineteenth-century trading port that dealt in spices, ivory and slaves. The seafront holds the main landmarks: the seventeenth-century Old Fort, the House of Wonders of 1883 — the first building in East Africa with a lift — the Sultan's Palace museum and Forodhani Gardens, where a food market sets up each evening. Inland, the Anglican cathedral stands on the site of the former slave market, with a memorial and museum beside it. The house where Freddie Mercury was born is a short walk away. Most visits are on foot with a guide, taking in the market, the doors and the rooftop terraces at sunset; spice-farm tours and Prison Island boat trips start from here.
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