Dotted along the east African coast are hundreds of urban settlements perched on the foreshore, their whitewashed houses of coral rag masonry crowd around a harbor where seagoing dhows are tied, between these settlements are ruins of palaces, mosques, fortresses, tombs and houses; the remains of a once sprawling civilization that tied the African interior with the Indian ocean world.
Not sure about the 'diversity' elements being something worth emphasising about the Swahili given that the evidence presented in this article suggests a pretty homogeneous culture that resisted and absorbed what elements it liked from conquerors and others, and eschewed the rest.
That said this was a pretty good article, love learning about the Swahili people.
Not sure about the 'diversity' elements being something worth emphasising about the Swahili given that the evidence presented in this article suggests a pretty homogeneous culture that resisted and absorbed what elements it liked from conquerors and others, and eschewed the rest.
That said this was a pretty good article, love learning about the Swahili people.