Gede Ruins, Malindi, Kenya: Ruins of Gedi  Travel Guide

The Gede Ruins is one of the famous tourism attractions and that is worth a visit on your Kenya holiday safari. The Gede Ruins was established in the 15^th century and it is located north of Mombasa adjacent to Malindi town.

Gene Ruins are described as the remains of the ancient typical Swahili town that was built alongside the east African coastline. The gene ruins were reconstructed in the 15^th and 16^th century as a new town at the east African coastline. The rebuilding of the Gede Ruins town was attached to the emigration behavior of a number of Citizens Malindi, kiwi to Mombasa and other coastal towns.

Due the population of people that lived in the new Gede Ruins, the town gained momentum and it prospered in the 15^th century. This is evidenced due to the existence of the Mosque, the palace and the houses which cuddle up in the Arabuko- Sokoke coast forest. However in the half of the 17 the century, the town detorieted and it were abandoned.

There were numerous reasons why the town was abandoned and one of them was as a result of a number of coastal raids especially the Congo tribe called the Wazimba raids. The sheikh of Malindi together with Portuguese joined and moved south in Mombasa. The Portuguese appreciated the sheikh for accepting to join them and this was through making them a sultan. The Gede Ruins failed because of the overhanging threats by the Galla which were hostile nomadic tribe from Somalia among other factors that led to its down fall.

The Gede Ruins have been critically studied and the first visit and analysis was done by the sir John Kirk who was a British resident staying in Zanzibar in the 1884. In 1927 the Gede Ruins was gazetted and it was declared a historical monument. The Gede ruins were rehabilitated, reconstructed and there has been repairing of the damages caused by the falling water tables which deepened the well that was outside the great mosque and this was done in 1927. And by 1948 the Gede ruins was transformed into national park where an Archaeologist was put as the park warden.

Apparently the Gede Ruins monument is being taken care of by the national museum of Kenya. The original forest that surrounds the Gede Ruins is referred to a sacred site where traditional rituals and sacrifices are done for the surround community. There are a number of guided tours that are done with in the areas of the Gede Ruins where tourist get the torch of the Swahili history. These guided tours can be arranged by hotel if you are staying on the Kenyan coast or in Mombasa.

The Gede ruins are found in Kilifi District and it is about 16 kilometers south of Malindi Town and it is about 90 kilometers north of Mombasa town.