Lamu Old Town is the old­est and best-pre­served Swahili set­tle­ment in East Africa, retain­ing its tra­di­tion­al func­tions. Built in coral stone and man­grove tim­ber, the town is char­ac­ter­ized by the sim­plic­i­ty of struc­tur­al forms enriched by such fea­tures as inner court­yards, veran­das, and elab­o­rate­ly carved wood­en doors. Lamu has host­ed major Mus­lim reli­gious fes­ti­vals since the 19th cen­tu­ry, and has become a sig­nif­i­cant cen­tre for the study of Islam­ic and Swahili cul­tures.