Fatuma's Tower

Fatuma’s Tower is tucked away in the sleepy fishing village of Shela on the island of Lamu in an old slow wooden boat. Tucked away in the back of the village, against the sand dunes, are the entrance gates to Fatuma’s Tower and passing through them you enter a secluded, peaceful world. At Fatuma's Tower you are invited into the home of Gillies and Fiammetta Turle. The Tower is named after Fatuma Abu Bakar a Swahili noblewoman who lived in this sanctuary attended by five female slaves until the end of the 19th century. After her death and the abolition of slavery the house fell into ruins and the magnificent tamarind tree growing in the courtyard established itself in the ruins of the fallen masonry.

Carefully restored and modified in 1998 the historic tower house has five double bedrooms and a large yoga hall. Included behind the same compound wall is the Sand Castle with it’s ground floor family apartment of three double rooms. In the surrounding gardens, the Garden Cottage has two double rooms both with bathrooms. These ten double rooms are all furnished with local antiques and fabrics in a simple yet elegant style to recreate the atmosphere of a fine Swahili house. No two rooms are the same and the cool, airy spaces retain an informal feel while several shaded balconies provide comfortable areas for avoiding too much sun and generally enjoying the peace and fresh air. The peaceful gardens have been recently “enlivened” by the refreshing sound of a fountain splashing over coral rocks into a small plunge pool.

On the first floor this lovely room has notable slitted windows to prevent direct sunlight creating contrasting shafts of light and shadow on the floor. The tangible feeling of peace in this room greatly encourages the practice of yoga and the warm/hot climate makes stretching noticeably easier. The hall takes 15 mats.