Lamu old town

Unesco's Scientific, Educational and Cultural Organization recognized Kenya's ancient Lamu Town as a World Cultural Heritage in 2001.

Lamu is the oldest ancient city in Kenya, the city located on the east coast of Africa, near the border with Somalia. The city is considered a tourist paradise in Kenya, it has a history of many mysteries and is an extremely charming city, with winding roads made of stone from the Middle Ages.

The small alleys are the way to the neighborhood, zigzag and deep. The architecture of the house in Lamu is not too fussy but still enough to realize the sophistication of these works. Most urban architecture is the same with stone buildings, wooden doors surrounded by a yard. Especially, there are many walls made of coral . Lamu ancient city architecture has many influences of European, Arab and Indian cultures. This combination creates an indigenous architecture that is both classic and luxurious but still simple. Another unique feature of this ancient city is that the roads are very narrow without space for modern transport, which is also the reason that noisy and noisy life cannot penetrate into the ancient city. this. And so, Lamu's image is still intact as the early days of establishment, quiet, ancient and poetic. Over hundreds of years, the life here still seems to be unchanged.

The ancient city of Lamu, a bustling port city on the east coast of Africa, this peaceful old city has a history of more than 700 years.

In the 14th century, Lamu was a bustling and vibrant port city. Now, the transport is still simple, speaking more accurately than the rudimentary. Most choose to walk.Trick is used as a heavy transport vehicle. When night falls, the city is lit by lanterns. Lamu's scene when night falls so becomes a private image nowhere else.

With a history of over 700 years, the ancient city of Lamu with many ancient architectural works is quite intact spread over an area of ​​over 16ha. So far, this ancient city still retains quite a lot of architectures from newly established plots 700 years ago. More importantly, the city's cultural and social integrity has been maintained and well preserved by the people. Currently residents in Lamu ancient city still maintain the lifestyle transmitted through many generations and traditional festivals have existed for hundreds of years. Unlike many ancient cities in the world when the golden age will gradually regress, underdeveloped, Lamu has always been crowded and bustling during the past 700 years. The residents here preserve, preserve and inherit the unique cultural traditions of their fathers and transmit from one generation to another in the most complete way. If you visit Lamu today, you will feel like you are lost in another world because of the ancient beauty and silence different from the modern world.

If visiting the ancient city, visitors will feel like they are entering another world because the city still retains almost intact ancient buildings, urban planning and religious and religious activities. threshold from 700 years ago.

The mix of many Arab, Persian, and Indian cultures combined with indigenous elements created a very different cultural color for this land. That cultural color not only affects architecture but also affects the spiritual life, religion and the traditional rituals and customs on the island or is exactly the ancient city of Lamu.

In the 18th and 19th centuries, Lamu was also considered an important religious center in East and Central Africa. At that time, this beautiful city attracted a lot of scholars and religious researchers to learn and study.

The ancient Lamu town of Kenya is recognized by Unesco as a world cultural heritage under the criteria (ii), (iv), (vi).

Criterion (ii): Urban architecture and planning in the ancient city of Lamu shows the uniqueness of a culture influenced by many cultures from Europe, to Saudi Arabia, India.

Criterion (iv): The development in the ancient city of Lamu for hundreds of years is an important testament to Kenya's history of formation and development.

Criterion (vi): In addition to historical and commercial factors, this ancient city also plays an important role as a religious center in East and Central Africa.

The small roads do not have room for any existing vehicles so people in Lamu still use rudimentary means of cheating or walking.