What the Old Fort is
The Old Fort — Ngome Kongwe — is the squat, crenellated stone enclosure at the seafront end of Stone Town, behind Forodhani. It is the oldest substantial building in the town and the one whose fabric carries the most history per square metre, which is not the same as saying it is the most rewarding to walk into.
What the record says
Zanzibar’s Department of Museums and Antiquities dates it to around 1700 and attributes it to Seyyid Seif bin Sultan of the Ya’aruba dynasty, which ruled Oman from 1692 to 1711. The site had been occupied by a Portuguese chapel and small fortified houses before the Portuguese were expelled from East Africa in 1698. The Omanis partly demolished the chapel and a Portuguese merchant’s house and built them into the western side of the fort; the department’s own account says remnants of the chapel can still be seen in the north-western corner wall.
The same account records that Seyyid Said added the eastern half in 1836 to hold his garrison, that a contemporary description in 1710 dismissed it as “a ridiculous little Fort”, that it later served as a prison, that in 1905 it was used as a railway station and depot, and that the front passage was built in 1946 to house a ladies’ club. Since 1964 it has been used for cultural performances, and it now hosts festivals.
The advisory body evaluation prepared for the World Heritage inscription describes the original plan as an irregular quadrilateral with square gateways and towers, of which only four survive, linked by crenellated walls, and records it as renovated and in use as a cultural centre. UNESCO’s description of the property names it first among the town’s major buildings, “built on the site of an earlier Portuguese church”.
What a visit is
The fort is a venue rather than a museum. Its value on the ground is the walls, the gateway and the corner where the reused Portuguese masonry is pointed out — the interior is a courtyard put to use, not an exhibition of the building’s own history. Most walking routes begin or end here because of where it stands, not because there is a great deal inside.
Its festival use is the exception and is the best reason to time a visit around it; the traditional music and dance guide covers what runs on the island and when.
Work continues on the building. The January 2025 UNESCO advisory mission recorded that a private development group had taken on cleaning fungus from the fort’s walls and carrying out regular maintenance, as part of a wider set of privately funded works in the town.
Common questions
How old is the Old Fort?
The Zanzibar Department of Museums and Antiquities gives about 1700, with the eastern half added in 1836. The World Heritage evaluation says the original fort was built in the 18th century on the site of a Portuguese church. The two accounts agree in substance.
Is there a museum inside?
No. It has been used for cultural performances since 1964 and is a festival venue. The building itself is the exhibit, and the interpretation on site is limited.
Can you still see the Portuguese church?
Not as a building. The department’s account says the Omanis incorporated the demolished chapel and a Portuguese merchant’s house into the fort, and that remnants are visible in the north-western corner wall.