Historical sites on Kenya coast

Historical sites on Kenya coast : Due to its extensive contact with the outside world, which dates back more than a millennium, the Kenyan coast is home to one of the oldest civilizations in all of East Africa. A variety of iconic buildings that are still important to the people’s culture today serve as the best examples of the rich legacy. This tour will cover some of the most amazing locations you can visit and teach you about the fascinating development of this civilization, which is a fusion of European, Arabic, and Swahili cultures.

Fort Jesus.
The most recognizable structure in Mombasa Old Town is Fort Jesus. After the Portuguese king Philip I conquered the Kenyan coast in 1593, he gave the order to build the stronghold. When the structure was finished in 1596, it served primarily as a tactical watchtower to ward off intruders arriving by water. Due to its important position in colonial authority, the fort Jesus was frequently attacked by prospective regimes, primarily Arabs with a desire to control the coast of East Africa. Fort Jesus was owned by the Portuguese, Arabs, Persians, and Swahili warriors nine times between 1670 and 1880. Historians can study the fortress’s impressive artefacts and panoramic architectural design now. The building’s inside is also home to a variety of chambers, such as Mazrui Hall and Omani House, each of which depicts a unique historical fact about Kenya.

Gedi ruins.
What’s left of an ancient Swahili settlement is located in the Arabuko Sokoke forest, 16 km south of Malindi town and 90 km north of Mombasa town. The 45 acres of land where the well-kept settlement was located represented the grandeur of an old African culture. The presence of a grand mosque, a sizable palace, tombstones, and opulent homes all serve to illustrate the affluence. According to historians, the settlement was founded in the twelfth century. After then, it was reconstructed in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, supported by comparatively recent construction and town walls. Allegedly experienced a total fall in the 17th century. Numerous factors are blamed for the fall, including Portuguese and Wazimba warrior attacks.

Vasco Da Gama pillar.
Vasco Da Gama, a Portuguese navigator, built the immensely seductive coral column in 1498. Constructed around a century prior to the construction of Fort Jesus, the Malindi pillar stands as the most prominent European monument on the Kenyan coast. Portuguese ships bound towards the Indian Goa colony were guided by the pillar. Portuguese limestone was brought to build the pillar, which is shaped like a lighthouse. The pillar is currently one of the most popular tourist destinations on Kenya’s coast.

Jumba la Mtwana.
The modest mediaeval Swahili town’s ruins are located in the Mtwapa Creek, around 20 km from Mombasa. Arabic-style building with broad coral blocks and expansive arch openings can be found throughout. Even though the excavation is still ongoing, a few of the buildings are complete and in distinguishable shape. The town was founded in the fourteenth century and abandoned in the fifteenth, according to the material evidence that is currently available, despite the lack of written records regarding its establishment and collapse.

Lamu fort.
Lamu was constructed between 1813 and 1821 by the Omani Arab kings. Originally, the fortification served as a watchtower against seafaring invaders, primarily Portuguese, who had been driven from most of their coastal territory during several battles with Arabs. However, when the Lamu region became less economically essential to the Arab rulership and much of the administrative work shifted to Mombasa and Zanzibar, the stronghold would lose significance. From 1910 to 1984, the British colonial authority used the ort as a jail. The fort is now a coastal library with a large collection of printed materials on the rich history of the coast on exhibit.

Kongo mosque.

According to legend, early Arab traders constructed the Kongo Mosque, the earliest mosque on the Kenyan coast, in the fourteenth century. The original name of the mosque was Diani Persian mosque. Later, the mosque was deserted and swallowed by the coastal forest and some of the enormous baobab trees. Sheikh Mwenye Kombo, a Muslim scholar, would subsequently redesign and renovate the mosque in the 1710s. Later on, Sheikh Kombo changed the facility’s name to Kongo in honour of a Muslim devoted swaddiq Kongo who was interred there. Over 300 years later, the mosque is still in operation. There are still coral stone walls that were in use in the past, despite the fact that the majority of the original building has been lost to time. In addition, there’s a big circular stone that predates the mosque and that the locals say was utilized by the natives for ceremonial purposes.

Kaya Kinondo shrines.
The Kaya Kinondo Forest was once ruled by the Mijikenda, a group of connected Bantu sub-tribes living along the coast. The Mijikenda people lived in organized settlements called Kaya, which were situated in clearings deep within the coastal forest, to avoid conflict with the Arabs and their Cushitic neighbors. To prevent incursion, the routes leading to the communities were heavily secured. But as the population expanded in the 19th century, the Mijikenda began to build new settlements, and by the 1930s, the whole community had left the forest. These days, the elders of the community use the Kayas as shrines. Visitors are welcome to come and enjoy the Kinondo forest walk alongside it.

Takwa ruins.
Takwa ruins are what stays of a small but densely populated city that existed between the 15th and 17th century. With its amazing coral stone Arabic architecture, the ruins of Manda Island, which are only a 20-minute boat trip from Lamu Island, evoke a sense of a once-thriving and rich settlement. The mosque situated atop the kibla wall and adorned with a massive pillar is the most recognizable feature. Attacks by the more potent Pate town and salinization of the nearby waters are two factors that contributed to the town’s downfall.

Siyu fort.
The only Native American-built fort on Kenya’s coast is Siyu Fort. One of the local siyu lords, Mohammed Ishaq bin Mbarak bin Mohamed bin Oman Famau, constructed the siyu castle, which is located on Pate Island, across a tidal waterway to the north of Lamu town. It was constructed with the intention of defending the neighbourhood against invasion by the strong Omani dynasty, who ruled over a large portion of the coast and islands of Eastern Africa. The building is square in design and features huge corner pillars. It was constructed using local resources. Up to 600 Islamic devotees can be accommodated in the spacious mosque located within the fort, which is still in operation today. In addition to the mosque, the nearby village of Siyu has tombs and other notable landmarks.

Portuguese chapel.
The Portuguese Chapel, which was founded in 1502, is the oldest Christian house of worship in Kenya. It predates the Rabai Church, which was founded by Church Missionary Society (CMS), by more than 340 years. Vasco da Gama, the renowned Portuguese explorer, constructed the church during his second journey to Goa by way of the coast of East Africa. The chapel was constructed nearby, and he had constructed the well-known Vasco da Gama pillars during his first expedition. It is stated that this chapel was purposefully constructed to resemble a little cottage because the Portuguese were considered as intruders and the coastal region of Kenya was predominantly Islamic.

The majority of the church’s patrons were Portuguese laborers. On his journey to Goa in 1542, the founder of the Jesuit order, Francis Xavier, a Catholic missionary who would eventually become a saint, stopped by and interred one of his travelling companions in the chapel graveyard. The church’s history was lost after Portuguese dominion ended in 1594, but it was resurrected in 1894 when J Bell Smith, the first British district commissioner in Malindi, was buried there shortly after the British acquired control of the coastal area and established their British East Africa protectorate. Today, the building is a well-liked destination for religious pilgrimages and is run by Kenya’s national museum.