Architectural, Cultural sights in Kenya
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Mombasa Old Town Conservation Society
While Mombasa's Old Town doesn't quite have the medieval charm of Lamu or Zanzibar, it's still an interesting area to wander around. The houses here are characteristic of coastal East African architecture, with ornately carved doors and window frames and fretwork balconies, designed to protect the modesty of the female inhabitants. Sadly, many of these have been destroyed; there is now a preservation order on the remaining doors and balconies, so further losses should hopefully be prevented.
The Mombasa Old Town Conservation Society is encouraging the renovation of many dilapidated buildings
From the outside there's little evidence of what any of these buildings were once…
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B
Swahili House Museum
If the Lamu Museum stokes your interest in Swahili culture, this beautifully restored traditional house tucked away off to the side of Yumbe House hotel will put you firmly back in the past.
Inside Swahili House Museum you'll find a recreation of a working Swahili home, with cookware, beds and other furniture. The attendant will give you a whistle-stop but informative tour in between small talk, including some fascinating descriptions of the regimented lives of Swahilis in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Traditional Swahili homes were built along rigid social lines, with separate quarters for men and women and audience halls that allowed men to receive guests without…
reviewed
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C
Karen Blixen's House and Museum
This charming farmhouse is where Karen Blixen, author of the popular novel Out of Africa, lived from 1914 to 1931. She left after a series of personal tragedies, but the lovely colonial house has been preserved as a museum. It was presented to the Kenyan government at independence by the Danish government along with the adjacent agricultural college.
It's set in lovely gardens and it's quite an interesting place to wander around, plus there's accommodation and a restaurant on site.
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D
House of Columns
One of a handful of traditional Swahili houses left in Malindi is the recently restored House of Columns.
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