Lamu Islands
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The Lamu Islands are located in the Indian Ocean close to the northern coast of Kenya, which controls them. They lie between the towns of Lame and Kiunga, close to the border with Somalia, and is a part of Lamu District.
The largest of the islands are Pate Island, Manda Island and Lamu Island. Smaller islands include Kiwayu, which lies in the Kiunga Marine National Reserve, and Manda Toto. Today the largest town in the archipelago is Lamu Town, on Lamu Island. The town is on the World Heritage List.
The archipelago contains several archaeological/historical sites of great significance, such as Takwa and Manda Town (both on Manda Island) and Shanga (on Pate Island). Some have been partially excavated in later years, shedding important new light on Swahili history and culture. The Takwa site can be easely reached from Lamu town.
The islands are reputed to be one of the westernmost ports of call of the great Chinese fleet of Zheng He, or even to be the resting place of a wreck of one of his ships. No direct evidence has yet been discovered of his visit, although it is known that he visited Mombasa, further down the Kenyan coast, in around 1415.
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[edit] Islands
The Lamu Archipelago consists of the following islands:
- Lamu Island, with the following towns/villages/archaeological/historical sites:
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- Lamu Town, (main administrative centre for Lamu Archipelago), on the World Heritage List
- Shela (village)
- Matondoni (village)
- Kipangani (village)
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- Manda Island, with the following towns/villages/archaeological/historical sites:
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- Manda Town (archaeological site)
- Takwa (archaeological site)
- + Manda Airport (the only one in the Archipelago)
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- Pate Island, with the following towns/villages/archaeological/historical sites:
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- Siyu
- Faza (main administrative centre for Pate island)
- Kizingitini
- Pate Town, (see also Rulers of Pate)
- Shanga (archaeological site)
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- Kiwayu Island,
- Manda Toto Island
[edit] References
[edit] Archaeology
- Chittick, Neville: Manda: excavations at an island port on the Kenya coast. Memoir / British Institute in Eastern Africa; 9, Nairobi, 1984. ISBN 0-500-97006-8
- Mark Horton; with contributions by Helen W. Brown and Nina Mudida: Shanga: the archaeology of a Muslim trading community on the coast of East Africa. Memoirs of the British Institute in Eastern Africa; No. 14 London: British Institute in Eastern Africa, 1996. ISBN 1-872566-09-X
[edit] General
- Allen, James de Vere: Lamu, with an appendix on Archaeological finds from the region of Lamu by H. Neville Chittick. Nairobi: Kenya National Museums.
- Ghaidan, Usam: Lamu: A study of the Swahili town. Nairobi: East African Literature Bureau, 1975.
- Romero, Patricia W.: Lamu: history, society, and family in an East African port city. Princeton, N.J.: Markus Wiener, c1997. ISBN 1-55876-106-3, ISBN 1-55876-107-1
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