The Swahili Coast refers to the coast or coastal area of East Africa inhabited by the Swahili people, mainly Kenya, Tanzania, and north Mozambique. The term may also include the islands such as Zanzibar, Pate or Comoros which lie off the Swahili Coast. The Swahili Coast has a distinct culture, religion and geography, and as a result - along with other factors, including economic - has witnessed rising secessionism.
The major settlements of the Swahili Coast include:
- Lamu
- Malindi
- Mombasa
- Tanga
- Pangani
- Bagamoyo
- Dar es Salaam
- Zanzibar
- Pemba
- Mafia Island
- Comoros
- Mayotte
- Sofala
- Quelimane
Famous quotes containing the word coast:
“Forced from home, and all its pleasures,
Afric’s coast I left forlorn;
To increase a stranger’s treasures,
O’er the raging billows borne.
Men from England bought and sold me,
Paid my price in paltry gold;
But, though theirs they have enroll’d me,
Minds are never to be sold.”
—William Cowper (1731–1800)