Ujiji

Ujiji
Swahili house in Ujiji
Shown within Tanzania
LocationKigoma-Ujiji District,
Kigoma Region,
 Tanzania
Coordinates4°54′40″S 29°40′30″E / 4.91111°S 29.67500°E / -4.91111; 29.67500
TypeSettlement
History
Founded18th Century
CulturesManyema, Jiji, Ha, Swahili and Arab
Site notes
ConditionEndangered
OwnershipTanzanian Government
ManagementAntiquities Division, Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism
Architecture
Architectural stylesSwahili
Official nameUjiji Historic Town
TypeCultural

Ujiji is the oldest town in western Tanzania and is located in Kigoma-Ujiji District of Kigoma Region. Originally a Swahili settlement and then an Arab slave trading post by the mid-nineteenth century nominally under the Sultanate of Zanzibar, the town is the oldest in western Tanzania. In 1900, the population was estimated at 10,000 and in 1967 about 41,000. The site is a registered National Historic Site.