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Mombasa Kenya Coast Gedi Ruins
hen traveling through appropriately called Swahili. The
Kenya, you can’t ignore language reflects Kenya’s
the marvelous national colorful history; it incorporates
parks and game reserves, words from Arabic, Portuguese and
inhabited by countless even German origin. Swahili is
fascinating animals. The mosaic now spoken all over East Africa,
of wildlife inside Kenya’s and even as far as the Congo.
borders is what makes this
country a famous tourist A walk through Mombasa Old Town
destination. However, Kenya has reveals the heart of the Swahili
another, equally enchanting side: culture. The narrow streets can
the coast. Donned with hardly accommodate cars, but all
paradise-like beaches, it’s a the more people and donkeys. The
wonderful leisurely end to an high houses provide shade from
active holiday. But if you look the scorching Mombasa sun; the
just a little bit beyond the heavy wooden doors are
beach, you will find a rich beautifully carved and inscribed
coastal culture that goes back a with Arabic text from the Koran;
thousand years. Islam is the dominant religion
alongside the Kenyan coast. On
After enjoying a Safari in the veranda’s, old men in
interior Kenya, the coastal town traditional Muslim attire chat
of Mombasa is a wonderful place the day away sharing a pot of
to exhale with a cocktail in spicy coffee.
hand. But Mombasa also has a rich
history where centuries of trade At the edge of Old Town, facing
and all kinds of cultural Mombasa bay, stands Fort Jesus;
influences have shaped the built by the Portuguese who
Swahili culture, including the conquered the city in the 16th
national language of Kenya, Century. They held on to the fort
until the British colonialists objects indicating Gedi’s wealth.
turned it into a prison. The fort However, there is no official
is open for viewing; inside is a historical record of Gedi, which
museum narrating the history of makes the place all the more
the fort and its occupants. The intriguing.The name Gedi is a
canons used to keep attackers at Galla word meaning "precious".
bay still proudly stand facing The Galla were a nomadic people
the sea. from Somalia, who conquered all
settlements on the Northern
Traveling alongside the Kenyan Kenyan coast in the 17th century
coast, there are countless other and who baptised Gedi and ruled
reminders of the cultures that it until the late 19th century.
once ruled the entire coastline. They then lost their position of
A must-see is the ruins of Gedi, power to the Arabs, who
an Arab-African settlement built reoccupied their original
in the 14th Century. There are territories.
many such ruins on the North
coast of Kenya, all the way into The historic site is on the
modern day Somalia, but Gedi is Mombasa-Malindi road, sixty-five
one of the very few that have miles from Mombasa and ten miles
been maintained as a public from Malindi. Gedi is a
historical site open for viewing. fascinating place to visit, more
so because the ruins are up to
The town has fascinated today shrouded in mystery; the
archaeologists since its actual reasons for its
discovery. Gedi seemed to have foundation, as well as its
been a wealthy, thriving town, destruction, are not known.
given the precious artefacts that Surrounded by modern-day villages
were dug up including Ming China built of wood, mud and stone with
porcelain and countless other all the hustle and bustle of the
local inhabitants, Gedi is an the Sultan while he receives
oasis of peace; overgrown with trade delegations. In the museum
all kinds of trees, plants and built adjacent to the ruins, the
flowers. There are friendly and found artefacts are exhibited
well-informed local guides alongside an overview of coastal
available at a small fee, but the Swahili culture.
map of Gedi is self-explanatory,
and you can easily discover the The structures at Gedi include 8
city by yourself. mosques, more than a dozen
houses, a palace and an
The ruins are clearly indicated, Amfi-theatre-cum-law-court. Gedi
identified by their architectural was surrounded by a wall, and it
style, such as the mosques, or seems like the city was deserted,
the artifacts that were found in then later reoccupied, because
or near the structures; names there is a second wall built at a
like ‘The house of the Iron later date that encircles a
Lamp’, ‘The house of the Ivory smaller part of the town. This
Box’, ‘The house of the wall incorporated some of the
Scissors’, ‘The house of the walls of existing houses. The
Venetian Bead’ fuel the artifacts that were found in the
imagination. In the silence that ruins, such as Chinese porcelain
now enfolds the once thriving and Venetian glass, indicate that
town, you can hear the echoes of Gedi was a wealthy city that
the voices of centuries ago. traded with Portugal, Italy,
While walking through the ruins, China, India and the Arab world;
it takes only a little which makes its absence in
imagination to see the veiled official historic records all the
women walking through the more intriguing.
streets, hear the children play
at the water well and sit with There are several theories to the
downfall of Gedi. Some say the
river changed its course, so the For more information on Gedi
water wells dried up, forcing the Ruins, call the museum in Watamu
inhabitants to move. Others on telephone number 042-32065 or
theorize that the Portuguese call the National Museums of
brought the deadly Black Plague, Kenya headquarters in Nairobi:
with no known cure, wiping out 020-374213 .
the population. A dispute or
invasion that caused the Entrance fee for tourists is 200
inhabitants to fled or evacuate Kenya Shillings; Under 16’s pay
is another theory. But whatever only 100 Shillings. For locals
it may be that caused Gedi to and residents the price varies
fall, its ruins are strong from 20 to 60 Shillings. Please
reminders of how powerful it once confirm with your local guide as
was, and how it influenced a prices my vary.
culture that exists to this day.
Published At: www.Isnare.com
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