The Mysterious Ruins of Gedi

Kenya has several contrasting tourist attractions per square mile. It probably has more than any other country in the world. This fact is evident on the Kenyan Coast. The Kenyan Coast has opulent hotels, sea ports, animal ad marine parks and the incredible nightlife. It has numerous historical sites that evoke

One of the most amazing of these antiquities is the town of Gedi located on the North Coast. It is about fifteen miles from Mombasa. The nearest settlement is Watamu, which was originally a Giriama fishing village. Watamu has come of age, the antiquities of Gedi are a complete contrast with its atmosphere of an ancient culture untainted by modern life.

The ruins of Gedi

Gedi was officially opened as a historical site in 1948. It consists of the ruins of a 15th Century Arab-African town. It originally covered an area of 18 hectares. Two sets of walls were built around the town that, i its heyday, contained a population of about 2,500 residents. The first wall encircled the entire town, including all the mud and thatch huts. The second one, the inner wall, was built much later and encircled only a prestigious zone, an area which forms the present ruins of Gedi.

The afternoon is the best time to visit the ruins. The sunlight creates a dappled shade that filters through the leaves of the impenetrable jungle. This enhances the eerie atmosphere. Local people are perturbed by the ruins.

James Kirkman, the archaeologist who first worked at Gedi, said “When I first started to work at Gedi, I had a feeling that something or somebody was looking out from behind the walls, neither hostile or friendly, but waiting for what they knew was going to happen. “

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