Gedi Ruins Kenya

" "

The Gedi (Gede) Ruins were declared a national park in 1948, and they are one the top tourist attractions in Kenya, especially for those enjoying Kenya beach vacations near Mombasa and Malindi. The Gedi Ruins are all that remains of Gede Kenya, which was a Swahili town that thrived hundreds of years ago. Gede Kenya once had mosques, palaces, and homes, and these structures were quite sophisticated during their day. The inhabitants here, which were of Muslim descent, had established quite a trading system as excavations have shown, but sadly, no written records have been found that can give absolute insight into life at Gede Kenya. You'll just have to depend on the information at hand and your imagination! It can be quite fun to conjure up ideas about what life would have been like when enjoying tours of the Kenya Gedi Ruins, that's for sure. 

The city of Gede Kenya was founded sometime in the late 13th or early 14th century, and according to academics, Gede reached its zenith in the mid-15th century. Because of the fact that Gedi Kenya was not of elite importance during its time, Swahili, Portuguese, and Arab historians more or less omitted it from their annals. It is understood that Gedi was particularly prosperous, however, so that is not to say that it was merely a simple outpost. Excavations of the Gedi Ruins that were carried out between 1948 and 1958 have uncovered porcelain from China, an Indian lamp, Venetian beads, Spanish scissors, and other interesting vestiges that show that some of Gedi's past citizens were engaged in quite a bit of international trade. It is not largely understood as to what caused the downfall of Gedi Kenya, but by the 16th century, the city was abandoned. Warring factions are believed to have been a possible cause for Gedi's ultimate demise, as it was caught in the general crosswords of past struggles between cultures in Mombasa and Malindi.