The Old Fort also known as the Arab Fort and by other names, is a fortification

Fortification

Fortifications are military constructions and buildings designed for defence in warfare and military bases. Humans have constructed defensive works for many thousands of years, in a variety of increasingly complex designs...

 located in Stone Town

Stone Town

Stone Town also known as Mji Mkongwe is the old part of Zanzibar City, the main city of Zanzibar, in Tanzania, as opposed to Ng'ambo . It is located on the western coast of Unguja, the main island of the Zanzibar Archipelago...

, the capital of Zanzibar

Zanzibar

Zanzibar ,Persian: زنگبار, from suffix bār: "coast" and Zangi: "bruin" ; is a semi-autonomous part of Tanzania, in East Africa. It comprises the Zanzibar Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of numerous small islands and two large ones: Unguja , and Pemba...

. It is the oldest building and a major visitor attraction of Stone Town. It is located on the main seafront, adjacent to another landmark building of the city, the House of Wonders

House of Wonders

The House of Wonders or Palace of Wonders is a landmark building in Stone Town, Zanzibar. It is the largest and tallest building of Stone Town and occupies a prominent place facing the Forodhani Gardens on the old town's seafront, in Mizingani Road. It is located between the Old Fort and the...

 (former palace of the Sultan of Zanzibar), and facing the Forodhani Gardens.

It was built in late 17th century by the Oman

Oman

Oman , officially called the Sultanate of Oman , is an Arab state in southwest Asia on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by the United Arab Emirates to the northwest, Saudi Arabia to the west, and Yemen to the southwest. The coast is formed by the Arabian Sea on the...

is to defend the island from the Portuguese

Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

, and it is known to have actually been used to repel at least one attack, from the Portuguese and their Mazrui

Mazrui

The Mazrui were an Omani/Swahili clan that reigned over some areas of East Africa, especially Kenya, from the 18th to the 20th century. In the 18th century they governed Mombasa and other coastal places and opposed the Al Bu Sa'id Omani dynasty that ruled over Zanzibar...

 allies. It was later used as a prison

Prison

A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...

 and as barracks

Barracks

Barracks are specialised buildings for permanent military accommodation; the word may apply to separate housing blocks or to complete complexes. Their main object is to separate soldiers from the civilian population and reinforce discipline, training and esprit de corps. They were sometimes called...

. In early 20th century it was also used as a depot during the construction of the railway that connected Stone Town to the village of Bububu

Bububu

Bububu is a town on the Tanzanian island of Unguja, the main island of Zanzibar. It is located on the central west coast, 10 kilometres north of the Zanzibari capital of Stone Town....

.

The fort is essentially a square of high, brown walls with merlon

Merlon

In architecture, a merlon forms the solid part of an embattled parapet, sometimes pierced by embrasures. The space between two merlons is usually called a crenel, although those later designed and used for cannons were called embrasures.-Etymology:...

s, protecting an inner courtyard. In the courtyard there are some remnants of earlier buildings, including those of a Portuguese church and another Omani fortification.

The Old Fort is one of the prominent visitor attractions in Stone Town, and its courtyard as been adapted to serve as a cultural centre with curio shops selling tourist-oriented merchandise such as tingatinga

Tingatinga

Tingatinga is an administrative ward in the Monduli district of the Arusha Region of Tanzania. According to the 2002 census, the ward has a total population of 4,811....

 paintings; it also has an open-air amphitheatre

Amphitheatre

An amphitheatre is an open-air venue used for entertainment and performances.There are two similar, but distinct, types of structure for which the word "amphitheatre" is used: Ancient Roman amphitheatres were large central performance spaces surrounded by ascending seating, and were commonly used...

 where live dance and music shows are held most evenings, a restaurant, and a tourist information desk. It is also the main venue used for large events such as the Festival of the Dhow Countries (also known as the Zanzibar International Film Festival) and the Sauti za Busara

Sauti za Busara

The Sauti za Busara , also known as Zanzibar Music Festival, is an African music festival that is held every year in February in Zanzibar, Tanzania. The main venues of the festival are the Old Fort and the adjacent Forodhani Gardens, in Stone Town, the capital of Zanzibar, but side events take...

.