Kenya, Lamu Island, Lamu. The harbour at Lamu Island. Lamu town already existed in the 14th and 15th centuries and flourished more recently between 1650 and 1900. The town is said to have been founded by one or more royal immigrants from the Arabian or Persian regions on the Caliphate. In culture, Lamu belongs to the distinctive civilisation called 'swahili'.The houses of today's waterfront were built on land reclaimed in the 19th century, so none are more than about 150 years old. The old waterfront ran just in front of the old fort (now a museum), which was completed in 1821.The wooden sailing vessels are called Jahazi. The larger jahazis have strips of woven coconut fibre matting affixed to their sides to reduce splash. They invariably have a wooden 'eye' on each side of their bow, usually representing a flag, a star and/or a crescent.
