★ UNESCO
World Heritage ◈ hidden gem
World Heritage ◈ hidden gem
📷 ROMAN ODINTSOV · Pexels
Where in the world
Tanzania
Kilwa Kisiwani
Swahili · Tanzania
Field notes
- civilizations
- Swahili
- types
- Village
- built
- 900 CE
- occupied
- 800 CE — 1,500 CE
- country
- Tanzania
The site
Kilwa Kisiwani is a Swahili settlement on an island off the coast of Tanzania, occupied from around 800 to 1500 CE. Built up from roughly 900 CE, it grew into a coral-stone trading town linked to the commerce of the Indian Ocean. Its ruins are inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, standing as a monument to the Swahili coast's medieval maritime world.
