Malindi
is a town on Malindi Bay at the mouth of the Galana River, lying on the
Indian Ocean coast of Kenya. It is approximately 120 kilometres
northeast of Mombasa.
Malindi is home to the Malindi Airport, and Broglio Space Port.
Malindi has been a Swahili settlement since the 14th century. Once
rivaled only by Mombasa for dominance in this part of East Africa,
Malindi has traditionally been a port city for foreign powers. In 1414,
the town was visited by the fleet of the Chinese explorer Zheng He.
Malindi’s ruler sent a personal envoy together with a giraffe
as a present to China on that fleet.
The Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama met Malindi authorities in 1498
to sign a trade agreement and hire a guide for the voyage to India,
when he erected a still existent coral pillar. In 1499 the Portuguese
established a trading post in Malindi which served as a resting stop on
the way to and from India. A church dates from this era. The pillar
stands to this day, though there have been calls by conservationists to
take care of the pillar, since soil erosion might make the pillar fall
into the ocean.
As one would expect, the culture economy and general setup of any given
place changes with time, and Malindi has journeyed through these eras
with much pomp and flair.
