Lamu Old Town

Donkeys and dhows still do the carrying in Lamu, East Africa's oldest continuously inhabited Swahili town. Narrow lanes thread between houses of coral stone and mangrove timber, cool inner courtyards hide behind magnificently carved wooden doors, and Muslim festivals such as Maulidi have drawn the faithful since the 19th century. UNESCO inscribed Lamu Old Town in 2001 as a living archive of Swahili culture shaped by centuries of Indian Ocean trade.