Kizimkazi

Kizimkazi is a fishing village at the southern end of Zanzibar, and the Kizimkazi Dimbani mosque there carries a Kufic inscription dated to 1107, the oldest dated Islamic inscription known in East Africa and evidence of how early the Swahili coast was connected to the wider Indian Ocean world. The mosque has been rebuilt around it over the centuries. Boats go out from the village to watch dolphins, which is now the main local trade.

What you actually see

• The Kufic inscription - dated 1107, the oldest known Islamic inscription in East Africa.
• The Dimbani mosque - the building around the inscription, rebuilt over centuries.
• The fishing beach - dhows and outriggers worked from the village shore.
• The dolphin boats - trips out to the bottlenose and humpback dolphins offshore.

When to go

June to October and December to February are the driest. Dolphin trips leave early in the morning. The long rains from March to May bring rough water.

Honest expectations

Dolphin trips here have a poor reputation for chasing the animals and dropping swimmers on top of them; operators vary and it is worth asking how they work. The mosque is in use and visitors should dress and behave accordingly. The village has few facilities.

Nearby

Jozani is north, and Zanzibar City is beyond it.