The Secret Side of Lamu - Kenya They Don’t Show You!
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- Опубликовано: 11 дек 2024
- Western nations warn against visiting Lamu, Kenya, claiming it’s too dangerous due to terrorism and kidnappings. The U.S. even prohibits its officials from traveling there. But after a 10-hour journey from Nairobi, I discovered a different reality-one that challenges these narratives. Lamu is a UNESCO World Heritage site with stunning Swahili-Arab architecture, rich culture, and some of the warmest people I’ve ever met.
In this video, I explore the beauty of Lamu, from the historic Subira House, built 200 years ago during Omani rule, to the vibrant traditions that continue to thrive on this island. I also dive into Lamu’s complex history, including its role in the Indian Ocean trade and the lasting impact of slavery-a history that is often understated but vital to understanding its heritage.
This journey reinforced a powerful lesson: Western travel warnings often deter us from discovering Africa’s true beauty, driven by narratives that don’t reflect the lived experiences of the people. Watch as I uncover the reality of Lamu-a peaceful, culturally rich destination that defies expectations.
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To book your stay at Subira House check out the link below
www.subirahous...
#travel #kenya #lamu #lifestyle #exploreafrica
What a beautiful documentary!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Kenya is such a beautiful place ! Amazing people, community and culture❤
Only the D.O land rover is was used on the island,only white Paint is approved,voted the best village in the world 👌🇰🇪🙏❤️‼️
Voted by who ?
@Onelove-Oneheart-h4c Google will show this awards just like the UNESCO,.trk Africa, tourism awards etc
I appreciate you sharing this documentary. One day, I hope to travel to Lamu. The Swahili culture is shared by Muqadishu, Lamu, Mombasa, and Stone Town, Zanzibar.
Very nice content.
A side of Kenya that I've never seen in RUclips videos until now.
Thanks for watching!
A beautiful vlog. Informative, intriguing and very educational. Presented with authenicity, originality and truth! It came straight from the heart, mind and spirit of a child of Afrika, a great Black woman. Keep up the fantastic work Weyni. The ancestors and those of us in the Diaspora see you
Thank you 🙏🏾
I truly enjoyed your vlog. I am an Arab and planning to explore Africa. You inspired me!! Keep it up dear
Thank you. You must visit Lamu and Zanzibar 🙏🏾
@planB-BacktoAfrica I've been to Zanzibar and Tanzania .. Loved them both .. next year the remaining countries.. Lamu gave me Zanzibar vibes..
@@baskinalrawahi it’s little Zanzibar without the alcohol, drugs but instead a lot of khat 😂 one more thing, the beaches in Zanzibar are unmatched though ✨
Weyni your work is truly appreciated by us in the diaspora. Thank you for another great production and for sharing your travels and experience with the community. I learned a lot from this video. Best to you and your family as always. Please keep up the good work and the videos coming. You have a true fan on this side!
Many thanks! 🙏🏾
Love your content! It’s always a pleasure! I live vicariously through your videos until I’m able to get to the motherland one day! Thanks
Glad you like them!
You are stealing my heart with every video. Keep telling the story they refuse to tell about us. I am proud of you. History will reward your efforts keep going SeaStar
Wow, thank you 🙏🏾
. Driven. By. IMPERIALISM..
nothing there for muzungu. Malindi another dump.
Very informative thanks for the update,have subscribed from Nairobi
Awesome, thank you!
Absolutely love your channel. 100% love the Kora music accompanying this video❤❤❤
Thank you so much!
Thank you what a beautiful get away👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽😊
It really is!
Dear Weyni, your love and passion for Africa is infectious. You have taught me so much and made me yearn to travel Africa slowly. Thank you for creating this corner on the internets 😊
You should explore Central Kenya... especially Mt Kenya, aberdares and Laikipia 💯
It’s already on my list. Can’t wait to go there soon 🙏🏾
👍beautifully written and narrated! I’m on board your channel!❤️😊🌹
Thanks and welcome!
I appreciate your contribution on this channel so much. I find great value in the anthropological, honest and respectful way that you present the continent to us. I am in Africa research mode! I am learning so much from your channel! Are there other RUclips Pan African creators that you respect and recommend as well?
Such a beautiful vlog. OMG ! I love it so much. Going to Lamu by road is a first… I beg to leave the chat there. 😄 everything else is 🫶🏾 amazing. Like in every vlog , I will keep saying, Welcome to Kenya my dada.
Thank you dada. The road trip was great, we get to see so many villages and had a stopover in Malindi. I think it’s time I get myself the kenya bracelet 😂
@ it’s called the Kenyan Passport. 😂
@@cherrro really? 😂 that one I need for sure because I have plans to grow young in kenya and retire here. We can switch, I‘ll give you my Ethiopian citizenship and you give me your Kenyan 🤣🤣🤣
@ i’m gonna have to pass that Ethiopian offer 😂 Happy to visit though. And I love my Ethiopian side… By Ethiopian side I mean all of you fantastic friends I made when I lived there. However, I can share my Kenyan village with you. My village becomes your village. 🫶🏾
@ 🖤🤝🏾
Wow 🤩 Amu kwetchu huku. Ambacha ukuta naya/nipiche mwandhani. The ngalawa ocean race is just breathtaking. Love that place 😊
Thanks for showing Lamu.I enjoyed the music.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Lamu is like a city in the archipelago.especially after visiting a island like kiwayu.i went on a three day dhow trip there stopping off at other islands its all very unique and interesting.
Very insightful vlog about Lamu. I would love to visit Lamu someday. Thanks for showing us Lamu.
Thanks and you should definitely visit!
Very beautiful video, thank you 🕊️✌🏿🕊️❤️🖤💚👸🏿🤴🏿🌌
Thanks for sharing sissy, I hope all is well with you and your family🫶🏾🙏🏾
Well done. I watched till the end 😊
My sister, thank you for sharing the amazing experiences of your journeys. I found your commentary on how slavery relates to the island of Lamu particularly interesting. These facts have been hidden on purpose. The children of the slave trade are the Israelites of the Holy Bible. My desire to learn about the history of slavery lead me to the book of Deuteronomy and the 28th chapter. More than likely these people are of true Israelite heritage.
I love how natural your videos are. Forever a subsciber
You narration is on another level , very eloquent and articulate. You wealth in history is so amazing and awesome
Wow, thank you!
As always, excellent work
When warning foreigners about certain countries, not all parts of the country is unsafe. For example, Mexico has some safe places, etc. So, when a warning is put out it is because there are high incidents of foreigners safety were at risk, etc.
Hi Weyni, excellent job!
Very elaborate and informative an
Mambo, I never listen to what they want to tell us in news or on media. Mostly it's exactly the opposite! I like this video, and you have a beauriful voice!
Kind regards from Germany 😎
Nice work
What's the background music, sound like Ballake Sissoko?
I first heard about Lamu through Brother Robin Walker. Amazing history.
Beautiful culture, beautiful land, beautiful people
Excellent.. how does lamu differ from zanzibar? I heard near lamu many years ago there were a shipwreck of some 500 chinese seamen. They are now integrated into swahili culture.
That’s a good question! The Sultan of Oman switched his seat from Musqat to Zanzibar, making Zanzibar the Center of the Sultanate of Oman, while Lamu had an Omani governor appointed by the Sultan. Accordingly, Lamu had a higher level of autonomy and maintained more of its original culture and traditions than Zanzibar. I would say Lamu is more African than Zanzibar. Besides that, Lamu compared to Zanzibar is mainly free from Alcohol and Drugs, things that often come as a result of the tourism boom as we have witnessed in Zanzibar.
That’s so beautiful the culture is incredible loving people it’s awesome proud to be Africans
Yes indeed, beautiful people and beautiful culture!
I LOVE WATCHING YOUR VLOGS VERY BEAUTIFUL 😍 &ON POINT, VERY AUTHENTIC 🎉. IM KEEP WATCHING YOUR VLOGS, BEAUTIFUL 😍
Thank you so much!!
We were fortunate to travel there twice, now 20 years past; gosh time has flown. You are taken from your mainland taxi and placed on a Dhow (boat) to the main island. The warm waters are waving you to and fro. You then see other Dhows making the same journey to Lamu island. Upon first arrival, it's as if you went back to the 13th century. Lamu is absolutely beautiful and breathtaking. Little hotels are gorgeous, with the old mahagony furnishing; huge beds. The lamb biryani was fantastic; the open flamed fried fish; the old doors , some from 13th century were so artistic. The people are very warm and calm; very peaceful. Donkey rides were fun. Beach is fantastic. Dhow ride was exciting. We had NO problems at all. We hope Lamu will always remain as it is. PLEASE keep your cultural lifestyle - do not lose your history and roots. No cars. No traffic. No tall glass buildings. No drunks/bars/gambling. Please Don't change it. Thank you for your video - brought back lovely memories. We hope to travel again next year.
@@DRventura333 wow thanks for sharing your beautiful experience 🙏🏾
The arabs are given to much credit for the Swahili culture.They (Arabs)found the Swahili cities from Mogadishu to Mozambique thriving.I have seen images of ancient Egyptians drilling wood the exact same way like @6.34. Wow
Exactly they force their BS so much
I agree, what’s even worse, the Omani are rewriting history. They have sponsored the renovation and new exhibition of the Lamu museum. So don’t be surprised to see a lot of glorification of their rule and Omani exceptionalism there! It’s a mess!
@planB-BacktoAfricadid you know the native swahili tried to reconquer mombasa with the aid of the Portuguese in 1728! Apparently the Omani and Mazruis were harsher on the locals than Portuguese.... There's even a house where the Arabs used teeth from their victims as mortar mixture and people were cemented inside walls... I think there was a feature on RUclips
Persia my friend,shirazi,,the first,,later on the arabs
@@Rasmajnoon YT deleted my comments on the same
Beautiful ❤❤
Love❤Lamu.
Great video. One thing I notice is that most activities appear to only include men. It was nice to see that women participated in the dancing at the end, but as you mentioned that was more modern part of the culture.
Hi, women participated equally, but out of respect for their conservative culture I refrained from recording close up videos of women unless they explicitly gave me their consent.
Thanks for sure beautiful Lamo
When i wanted to visit Lamu, it wasn't Western media, but other Kenyans warning me not to go by road. This was 10+ yrs ago. They warned that a group of Somalians would hijack buses sometimes. We even had a Kenyan soldier escort for a few miles.
Nothing happened on the long ride & we had a great time.
I always pay attention to travel warnings, especially if it's from local people.
They were destroyed. It's now safe. Welcome to Lamu, Kenya.
But it was true. The reason Kenya forces entered Somalia was as result of a tourist hijacked by Somali terrorist group Alshabab and spirited into Somalia where they demanded ransom.
There was a time they were refusing passage to non locals. It was that bad. Somalis believe that even Lamu is their own.
Your videos are short and sweet
Beautiful heritage.
It sure is!
Beautiful place, but the heat, weh!!
Wow!
Thanks❤
You're welcome
Subscribe and like to support our sister weyni who is brilliant woman
Over slavernij gesproken. Tot heden zijn er nakomelingen vd slavernij in bijvoorbeeld Suriname. Weggelopen slaven die zich in de bossen hadden verscholen en de laatste jaren zich in de westerse levensstijl proberen te handhaven. Het is niet zo simpel als hoe het gebracht wordt. De pijn is generaties na de afschaffing vd slavernij nog voelbaar. Het is hoe je het bekijkt mevr Weyni. Blessings. ❤
Next visit Kisumu and Homabay to Migori
I will
Reminds me of Stonetown in Zanzibar.
they're technically the same people, but divided by borders drawn by europeans
🙏🏿💯
💞💕💕
No vehicles in Lamu.
🙏🏿
Lamu is beautiful, but not even close to your beauty! I'm left talking to myself!
Im actually glad for the warnings, some places are best not exploited by foreigners. Lamu is sacred ❤
The best life 🧬🌱🕊️🖤🌍 🌄 💦 🌿EveR
Hallo Weyni. I want to move to Kenya as retree. Please give me the E-Mail of your lawyer or do you have An Idea. Thank you.
Fine, no cars. What about the use of bicycles?
I slept here and it’s amazing. Lamu is awesome
You didn't drink some sugar cane juice?😂
Of course I did 😀
My dear Kenya got independence in 1961 so how come that buid become 800 years! 😢 Tell the story better ❤
You want to say there was nothing before independence?
Do you think life in Kenya started after independence ?
@@maria_mutondioriginal5 lol be serious. You want to credit the colonialist as if they brought us with them and planted us here? Sis our people lived here waay before those people sailed our way. Be serious. Jipende kidogo. Also we gained independence in 1963 not 1961 get the facts right first.
Dada I didn’t even understand what the Lady was talking about 😂
@cherrro try to understand she mentioned that house built by Arab colonial! so did Arab was there since 800 years ago! Listen before giving answer from no where 😢
Weyniye, wo bist du geboren und aufgewachen in Deutschland ? Warum machst du keine videos von unser land Äthiopien ?
Hi, ich bin aus NRW. Ich Plane gerade Videos über Äthiopien zu machen. 🙏🏾
Es ist Ok, shöne gruße von München in Bayern ! Melkam gize !
After seeing the otherside of Kenyans destroying each other i would never visit even with a free ticket the hate, jealousy, cyber Bullying, campaign against (I am_ marwa) is insane and no law seems to be applied there soo sorry these bad people in this village has put off millions of people. The main character's are spewing soo much lies misinformation and untruth every day it needs to be brought to the tourist Board of Kenya and government.
The lives of Kenyans online is nothing compared to the experience on the ground. Many Kenyans are just spectators of these dramas like you. We have a vibrant vlogging industry which benefits a lot from such showbizz.
Its not show biz it is Destroying sabotaging scamming stealing robbery it is a toatal nightmare to encounter online much less in real life and on top of that Organ trafficking is it safe for tourist to walk around this Lawless country even the locals are warned to always let people know where they are going and details of who they are MEETING FOR THEIR SAFETY 😢😮A BIG ORGAN HARVESTING @@TimelyInspiration-qp7yi
Lamu is far from a hidden jem. Its a UNESCO heritage site. I visited it in 1987. The warning is about kidnapping and terrorism in Lamu County. This is based on what has happened to some tourists. This has nothing to do with continuing US cultural hegemony. Lamu features prominently in documentaries about Africa's history (Basil Davidson's BBC doc series & Henry Louis Gates programs). The Swahili Coast is a huge part of my AP World History class. Swahili Tarab music would have been more suited to the video than west african kora music. You can ignore the travel warnings if you want.
Thanks for your input! While Lamu is a UNESCO site, that doesn’t make it universally known, especially for younger audiences. Sharing its rich history and culture is exactly why this video exists.
As for U.S. cultural hegemony, perhaps the real question is why the U.S. maintains a heavy military presence in the Red Sea while issuing travel warnings that discourage people from discovering Africa’s beauty firsthand.
On the music: Taarab is beautiful, but finding license-free Taarab music is nearly impossible. The kora music I chose fits the reflective tone I wanted to convey-Maybe next time I’ll run my creative decisions by you-since you seem to know what works best for everyone.
Lastly, I hope your history class covers Lamu’s role in the Indian Ocean slave trade. A site this significant deserves more than passing mentions in documentaries!
Wakikuyu wanafanya nini Huku? Smh
Wako nyumbani. Aren't they lovely?
Wakikuyu wamekuwa na wao ni culture ya Lamu 😂😂😂. Hio ni culture ya murima, huko central Sio Lamu. They should not attend. Muliwaona wabajuni waki-attend culture ya central Kenya? Kijiingiza Kwa yasio wahusu.
Go and see the slavery in Ethiopia, don't pretend you love Lamu, you just want to force slavery stories in Lamu.
Even if you are an Ethiopian jew.
You are Exposed
I already spoke about slavery in Ethiopia on my Instagram channel and I’m not delusional, blinded by fake patriotism and pride like you!
@planB-BacktoAfrica Slavery happened at the East African coast. We learned about it in school when I was growing up.
Try looking at modern day slavery in libya
Kenya is the Capital of Africa