The surrounding region has been overrun by Arabs and Swahili from the East African coast.
This well-known Arab term for coast-belt (which in the plural form reappears as the familiar "Swahili" of Zanzibar) is applied to a third division of Tunisia, viz.
Dating back to the 13th century, much of the Swahili structures are still intact, including mosques and a former sultan 's palace.
Another Star Trek publication suggested her first name is "Penda", a Swahili verb-ending that means "to love".
In its plural form, Swahili, the word has become the tribal name of the natives inhabiting the coast strip opposite Zanzibar.