Vasco-Da-Gama
Gede ruinsGede ruins are the remains of a Swahili town, typical of most towns along the East African Coast. It traces its origin in the twelfth century but was rebuilt with new town walls in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.
Gede is located in coast province, Kilifi district. It lies 16 km south of Malindi town and approximately 90 km North East of Mombasa.
This rebuilding is connected with the emigration of many citizens of Kilwa to Mombasa, Malindi and other places along the coast. With its numerous inhabitants, the town became wealthy and it reached its peak in the fifteenth century. This enormous wealth is evidenced by the presence of numerous ruins, comprising of a conglomeration of mosques; a magnificent palace and houses all nestled in 45 acres of primeval forest.
But in the first half of the seventeenth century the last families left the town. Gede’s eventual abandonment to nature is believed to be as a result of a number of factors. Namely, the Wazimba raid along the East African Coast in 1589. The removal of the Sheikh of Malindi and the Portuguese to Mombasa in 1593.
