Collection of Arabic Manuscripts and Books
Documentary heritage submitted by Tanzania and recommended for inclusion in the Memory of the World Register in 2003.
The Collection of more than 800 local and printed manuscripts under the custody of the National Archives is unique material to the study of the social and cultural heritage of Zanzibar and the Eastern African region. Some of these go back to 300 years providing data of all kinds and they are of great interest to the study of various aspects of Islam, Arabic literature and rhetoric, history of ideas in Zanzibar and the Eastern African. In addition to cultural content, the manuscripts represent good artistic works showing the art of calligraphy, the arrangement to margins and other points connected with artistic embellishment.