A Swahili man sits on a stone bench at the entrance to the compound of a large old house with a massive beam and decorated wooden doors. Like most others in Faza village, the house is made of coral rag.The chequered history of Faza dates back several hundred years. It was destroyed by Pate in the 13th century and again by the Portuguese in 1586. The inhabitants then switched their allegiance to the Portuguese in the 17th century in an attempt to subdue troublesome Pate. Faza declined in significance in the 18th and 19th centuries and is now a backwater.