Ruins of Kilwa Kisiwani and Ruins of Songo Mnara

Kilwa Kisiwani: East Africa’s Forgotten Medieval Port

Kilwa Kisiwani sits on a small island off the southern Tanzanian coast, accessible by ferry from the mainland town of Kilwa Masoko. Between the 13th and 16th centuries it was one of the wealthiest cities on the East African coast, at the centre of a trade network that moved gold from the Zimbabwe plateau to merchants from Arabia, India, and China. Ibn Battuta visited in 1331 and described it as one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Vasco da Gama arrived in 1498 and the Portuguese subsequently sacked it in 1505, which substantially ended the good times.

What remains is a UNESCO World Heritage Site: the Great Mosque (the largest pre-colonial mosque in sub-Saharan Africa), the palace complex of Husuni Kubwa, and extensive ruins of coral-stone buildings that have been slowly reclaimed by vegetation over five centuries.

The Ruins

The Great Mosque was built in stages between the 11th and 15th centuries. The oldest section dates to around 1050; later additions by Sultan Suleiman ibn Mohammed in the 15th century expanded it to over 30 aisles and added the coral dome that partially survives. The stonework is made from coral blocks and marine limestone — the standard Swahili coast building material — cut and dressed with considerable precision.

Husuni Kubwa, about a kilometre from the main mosque, is a palace complex built around 1320 under Sultan al-Hasan ibn Sulaiman. It covers about 2.5 hectares and includes a large audience court, a swimming pool, and a warehouse section — the pool being particularly unusual for a 14th-century building in the region. The site is overgrown and requires some orientation, but the scale of what was here is still readable from the surviving wall sections.

Songo Mnara

A second island about 8km south, Songo Mnara was inhabited in the 14th and 15th centuries and has five mosques and a palace within a small area. The stonework is comparable to Kilwa Kisiwani but the site is less excavated and considerably less visited. Access by dhow or motorboat from Kilwa Kisiwani takes about 30 minutes. The combination of both sites in a single day trip is possible with an early start.

Getting There

Kilwa Masoko is 400km south of Dar es Salaam. The paved road makes the drive about 6-7 hours by car. Coastal Aviation and other small carriers fly to Kilwa Airport from Dar es Salaam and from Selous/Nyerere National Park, a flight of about 1.5 hours. The ferry to Kilwa Kisiwani from Kilwa Masoko takes 10-15 minutes and runs through the day.

Accommodation in Kilwa Masoko is basic; several guesthouses and small lodges in the $40-80/night range are available. Mkoani Lodge has the most established reputation for accommodation and organising boat trips to the ruins. Seafood — fresh fish, octopus, crab — is the reliable food option.

The site sees perhaps a few hundred international visitors per year. Guided tours of the ruins are available through the site management office and are worth taking; the archaeology is easier to read with someone explaining the sequence of construction.