What sets the Takwa ruins, the remains of a city that existed between the 15th and 17th centuries, apart from other archaeological sites on the coast? Quiet. When you’re here and the light shatters in the trees, which have grown over some 100 ruined Mecca-aligned houses, you feel as if the ruins are speaking to you in the breeze.
As you’re likely to have Takwa to yourself, it’s a good spot to enter an abandoned home and ponder the lives of whoever inhabited it without the buzz of a guide. The seminal structure here is the Jamaa mosque , with its unusually tall pillar facade. You can arrange camping here for about US$10 – it’s a supremely peaceful way to spend a star-heavy evening.
