Lamu is a Swahili town resulting from a combination of trade and Islam, modified by the environment. Trade provided wealth, Islam the incentive for permanent settlements reflected in the requirement of Islamic canon law that Friday noon prayer be held in a permanently settled location.

The monsoon winds supplied the energy the ships needed and the building materials, coral and mangrove were available on the shores.

The streets of Lamu are narrow, cool and quiet. They are surprisingly intimate spaces enclosed by massive stone buildings whose thick coral rag walls give the town its distinct colour and texture.

Lamu, Town, Island and Archipelago, all of the same name, lie 2 degrees below the Equator along Kenya's coast. The archipelago is a chain of Islands separated from the mainland by a narrow channel bordered with dense mangrove forest and protected from the Indian Ocean by coral reefs and large sand dunes. The many historical sites are proof of the area's long and rich history which, when combined with all the natural attraction of its tropical setting, make Lamu a wonderful place to visit.

Any tour of Lamu is best begun at the Lamu Museum which provides an excellent introduction to the town and the region, both past and present. The exhibits include the material culture of the archipelago, ethnographic tableaux of neighbouring coastal people, as well as collection of maritime artifacts and model dhows. After this orientation you are ready to amble through the streets, set sail for nearby ruins, or just go fishing.

Lamu is a traditional Islamic community, with over 20 active mosques in the town and most women veiled in public. Visitors are welcome, but are asked to observe and respect local custom.

The naturally protected harbour on its northeast side led to the founding of Lamu Town which became a centre of coastal commerce. Today, Lamu's economy is still dominated by maritime activities: shipping, fishing mangrove cutting and shipbuilding.

The people of Lamu are devout followers of Islam and the town is a place of religious pilgrimage where Muslims from all over eastern Africa gather every year to celebrate Maulidi, the Prophet's birthday. Lamu is remote even by Kenyan standards.

A thousand years of trade, settlement and Islamic expansion have left ruins up and down the East African coast. In the 2nd century, the Greeks knew of this coast and called it Azania. Later, in the 9th and 10th centuries Arab and Persian traders and settlers called it Bilad-al-Zenj. Their small settlements grew into fiercely independent city-states which brought forth a distinct Arab-African culture called Swahili. The buildings in Lamu's historical core date from the 18th century, though both folklore and archaeological evidence point to an older settlement just south and possibly also north of today's town. In December 2001 Lamu Town became a world heritage site in order to protect the oldest inhabited settlement south of the Sahara.