Saturday, June 5, 2010

Kenya's great mystifying treasure "Gedi Ruins"

By: cheapflightsafrica




The Gedi Ruins are the remains of a Swahili town located in Gedi , a village near the coastal towns of Malindi and Mombassa in Kenya. The Gedi ruins were declared a National park in 1948, and they are one of the top tourist's attractions in Kenya especially for those enjoying Kenya beach vacations near Mombassa and Malindi. It is a place of great mystery, an archaeological puzzle that continuous to engender debate among historians.


Historic site on the Mombassa-Malindi road, Gedi is a fascinating place to visit, more so because the ruins are up to today shrouded in mystery; the actual reason for its foundation; as well as its destruction are not known. Surrounded by modern-day villages, built of wood , mud and stone with all the hustle and bustle of the local inhabitants , Gedi is an oasis of peace; overgrown with all kinds of trees, plants and flowers. There are friendly and well informed local guides available at a small fee but you can also discover the city by yourself.


Gedi was a small town built entirely from rocks and stones which was inhabited by a few thousand Swahili people and ruled by a very rich sultan. It is understood that that Gedi was particularly prosperous , excavations of the Gedi ruins uncovered porcelain from China, an Indian lamp, Venetian beads, Spanish scissors, and other interesting vestiges that shows that some of Gedi's past citizens were engaged in quite a bit of international trade.


Gedi had a mosque, a palace, and large stone houses. These houses were complex for their time, with bathrooms with drains and overhead basins to flush toilets. The city's streets were laid out at right angles and had drainage gutters.


The greatest mystery of Gedi is it sudden desertion in the 17th century. The entire town was suddenly abandoned by all of its residents, leaving it to ruination in the forest. There are no signs of battle, plague, disturbance or any cause of this sudden desertion. There is no official historical record of Gedi, which makes the place all the more intriguing.


Although many who visit Kenya will see the dramatic mega fauna found in the many natural parks, it will also be wise not to overlook some of the many historical and cultural sites, such as the Gedi ruins.


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