Lamu House and Local Ruins at Siyu Fort

A visit to the archeological ruins at Siyu Fort and Pate Island were made at the insistence of the Belgian proprietor of the Lamu House hotel.  This hotel is a spectacular property on the Lamu waterfront with impeccable attention to detail to its spare, elegant decor using local furnishings with a European touch here and there.  The restaurant serves hotel guests and other wayward locals or tourists looking for good food and some of the best service in Lamu and Shela.  I highly recommend staying at Lamu House: http://www.lamuhouse.com/

This is a Lamu House rooftop view from the terrace where we stayed overnight.

This is Siyu Fort on Pate Island 25km north of Lamu Town, accessible through mangrove creeks only at high tide.  Unlike the forts in Mombassa and Lamu built by foreigners, Siyu was built in the 19th century by local people to defend against Omani Arabs.

Local village men were expecting us and with our guide's introduction, allowed us into their village.

Siyu mosque.

Ruins of a house.

Burial tomb for a male.

Burial tomb for a female.  The grid pattern on the walls is where Chinese export porcelain would have served as decoration.  It's all been taken over the centuries.

View of the village children following us from the interior of the female tomb.

Ruins of a mosque said to date back 600 years.

I am obsessed with the mughal arch.

Siyu village life.

Who is a nugu? Nugu means monkey in Swahili and the kids jumped on the bars when I asked.

Relative of the local curator who showed us the ruins and the fort.

One of four ornate hand-carved doors serving as entrances to the fort.

Inside the fort walls reveals ruins of a mosque.

Mosque detail.

Inside the turret.

View of the channel where we arrived and a gorgeous acacia tree.