Early in the morning, the donkey walk from the beach
For many people, LAMU (Ram) are distant and unknown mystery island has become a temptation. It is called "masked Africa, the island has a rich Islamic customs, the ancient city of Ram is the most representative of Kenya and the whole East African history, the cradle of Kiswahili culture. And donkey island said, has the most beautiful sunsets and tropical island style.
Ram Island, where?
Zheng He landed the East African island
Take a small plane from Nairobi to Ram Island to be nearly two hours, in the final minutes of flight, blue bay, forest green and white buildings woven into an elegant and extremely picture at our feet, regardless of the Blue green, white, as are a thorough, pure, sparkling colors, beautiful people dizzy.
Sea breeze coconut Ram Island in the shadow
Small Lahm Airport, we rode the Arabs have been handed down of the dhow (locally called dhow) to Ram Island the Kijani hotel to pick our Islamic guy Abdullah smiled and told us: 600 years ago, Zheng He came to Kenya, the first landing place is the Ram island. Ram museum display the centuries, the Chinese porcelain, textiles, spot, or even a manual pasta machine. The local fishermen repeatedly salvaged from the waters of the Ram near intact ancient porcelain and pottery, some inscribed with Chinese characters, some printed with dragon motifs, suggesting that these things must come from China.
It was reported that many Chinese sailors due to ship damage had settled here, a pate of Ram Island, opposite the island, there is a Shanghai village, village, most of the village which retains the lineage of the Chinese people. Ram Island, Ram Islands, one of the most densely populated island, there are 17,000 people, 99 percent Muslim, the reason for the population in this set, because the only Ram Island to play salty groundwater.
Beautiful the dhow
Into the Ram Island, the moment I can not help but suspect that here in East Africa? The white walls of the buildings around a thin narrow streets, dressed in a black robe himself wrapped meticulous woman, wearing the hats of the men of Islam, coming and going around a donkey laden with bags, beach static static mooring with the vicissitudes of life and a strong sense of dhow wooden boat. Ram is a completely medieval Islamic world, no wonder the Ram, the ancient city of 2001 World Cultural Heritage.
Ram Island history?
It has had a splendid history
Ram Island is about more than 20 square kilometers, 12 miles long coastline. From the 9th century AD, Arabs began to settle in as Kenya''s oldest living town, where history is just like its winding lanes of the medieval Stone generally mysterious and fascinating.
Ram ancient town was built in about the 12th century, work together to build by the local Bantu and foreign businessmen, businessmen from the Arabian Peninsula, and some from the Persian Gulf and the Far East. This new towns assume the middleman role of the inland and maritime, exporting ivory, wood, internal import of industrial products such as clothes, ceramics, spices, quickly jump up from the independent city-states of the East African coast in the 13th century.
1506, Portugal invaded Ram won the dominance of the ocean the 17th century, the Muslim monarchy of Oman to assist Ram resist the Portuguese regime, and finally gained its independence in 1698, the establishment of a republican regime, the from Yumbe elders parliamentary rule, open the Ram golden age. Trade in this period of gold, ivory, rhinoceros horns, hippopotamus tusks, shark fins and other extra warm, Ram increasingly affluent economy, the construction of many Ram Islamic-type building. Building coral and mangroves, building materials, not only not afraid of the damp climate, the absorption of water vapor, and have actually become more robust, but retained so far.
Islamic style
Ram size of the town and lay in the 18th century, has so far not modified. From the early 13th century to the 20th century, Ram has been a thriving port city, the East African coast, Kiswahili and the Arab Center for the Arts, the supreme knowledge center. Until after the abolition of the slavery in 1907, the island''s economy has been a great impact, it gradually subsided.
What are the characteristics of the Ram Island?
The island is also a donkey Island
Although the Arabs, Portuguese, British and Chinese people have long been here, but they affect the deepest or the Arabs and Portuguese. The island retains a lot of Portuguese architecture, of course, affect the deepest or Arabs, Islam, Arab businessmen on the island to the island not only brought the Muslim civilization, and the donkey to the island.
Ram now known as the "Donkey Island", the island the only means of transport is the donkey. Only 17 000 residents of the island is actually a donkey, 6000. Each household on the island has a few donkey, the donkey is the indispensable partner in their lives, because the transport of goods on the island basically rely on donkeys, in addition to the donkey is rely on manpower to pull flatbed. Donkey freight, truck, riding a donkey through the labyrinth of alleys. Therefore donkey enjoy a high status in this delicious Cantonese do not say "the sky dragon meat, underground donkey, the boss, a dish of donkey", because the consequences will be very serious.
A man''s white stenciling hat
The island and even a donkey hospital, dedicated to the island sick ass free treatment and feeding loss of the mother donkey. Donkeys in the island is quiet and gentle, their normal work, to survive, without unnecessary harm. Coast alley "have" to walk with the donkey has become the landscape of the island donkey became tourists who race on the game.
Ram Island to play?
Visiting fans in general lanes
Ram, there are many worthy of exploration. Housing and construction material of construction is particularly unique. The vast majority of buildings can be traced back to the 18th century or before, to take building materials derived from local, including the use of coral stone walls, supporting a wooden door with mangrove Lin Zhuzi, and complex carved shutters. While it is on foot to explore the best way of Ram Ram Island is not from this end of the island on foot that one, walk a straight line as long as 40 minutes speedboat ride as long as five minutes, and most tourists choose to take a dhow, the vicissitudes of and romantic wooden boat.
The island is full of mystery, like the alley. Coiled under these lanes, in the 21st century, Ram, with 400 years ago and there is not much difference, aloof from the world''s geographic location, as if the continuous advance of the times forgotten it ... stone town, carved wooden doors. masked Africa, wearing a round hat of black men, wearing robes of a child, carrying goods donkey are drilling drilled in the narrow alleys of a day, five Muslim chanting prayers, cool and bright in the alley wrap, to travel, will follow a natural slow down, back to the past. Lively island and the surrounding Indian Ocean on the other, Ram Island residents to maintain the life he has been since the tourists come and go and did not affect their own entertainment.
In addition to the beach road, Ram island slightly wider, almost no decent roads, basically allowing only two people walking side by side alley. Of course, you do not have to worry about transporting the goods to avoid the problem, every 3-5 m alleys, will be a people in front of a recessed open space set aside, made a row of stone benches for their own friends or pedestrians to avoid a break even sleep. The door of every household have their own characteristics, no similarity, not even a wall is exactly the same. The locals like coral inlaid in the wall, one beautiful decorative solid moisture, and secondly. Wander in the the Lahm city, feeling Trolltech in the labyrinth of the old city, shuttle, I felt fascinated by the surge of Harmonia, and the streets full of youth old building, dilapidated buildings in the alley next to the shaded very beautiful trees and flowers donkey laden with heavy pockets hard working cat plotting in the mouth of the alley the night of action black woman descended through the reverie back and left us with.
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