Mafia Island

Mafia Island lies off the East African coast, separated from the mainland by a channel near the Rufiji delta. Its southern waters contain reefs, mangroves and smaller islands around Chole Bay. Swahili settlements on the islands traded along the coast and across the Indian Ocean; the old town of Kua on Juani Island had mosques and stone buildings. Fishing and sailing linked the archipelago to the neighbouring mainland.