Malindi

Malindi
Street in Malindi
Basic data
county	Kilifi County
Residents	119,859 pop.
Coordinates	3 ° 13 ′  S , 40 ° 7 ′  E Coordinates: 3 ° 13 ′  S , 40 ° 7 ′  E
Malindi

Malindi
Climate diagram
J F. M. A. M. J J A. S. O N D.     11   31 23     17th   31 24     36   32 24     163   31 24     298   29 23     154   28 23     91   27 22nd     64   27 22nd     47   28 22nd     68   30th 22nd     75   31 23     35   31 23 Temperature in ° C ,  precipitation in mm Source: Kenya Meteorological Department, data:

Malindi is a city in Kenya with about 120,000 inhabitants (2019). It is located about one hundred kilometers north of Mombasa on the coast of the Indian Ocean .

history

Malindi was an ancient city of Islamic Swahili culture . A settlement is mentioned several times in Arabic sources, but it was not until the 14th century that Arabic and Chinese pot shards were found. Remains of a mosque from the 15th century have been excavated, two pillar graves decorated with Chinese porcelain plates from the same period stand in front of a new mosque.

In 1414 the Chinese expedition of Admiral Zheng He visited Malindi and the local ruler sent envoys to China . In 1498 the Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama went ashore near Malindi and took his pilot on board for the onward journey to India . Da Gama's meeting with the King of Malindi was embellished in the Portuguese national epic The Lusiads . In the period that followed, Malindi entered into an alliance with Portugal , not least to gain support in the dispute with the neighboring city and rival Mombasa . For the Portuguese, Malindi was the important base between Mozambique and Goa . The alliance with the Portuguese declined in importance since they moved their main base to Mombasa with Fort Jesus in 1593 .

In the period that followed, Malindi steadily lost its importance and fell into disrepair. It was not until the 19th century that there was renewed interest in Malindi, after the focus of the Omani Empire had shifted when the court moved from Oman to Zanzibar on the East African coast. Arab families established slave-managed plantations near Malindi, which gave the city a new boost. In the English colonial times it was discovered as a bathing beach, which has become the basis for its rise as a tourist location.

In addition to tourism , the people of Malindi live from fishing , cotton and sisal processing and trade . Malindi airport is to be expanded for international flights.

Off the coast near Malindi is the San Marco platform , which was built between 1964 and 1988 a. a. several rockets launched into space.

In 1968 the Malindi Marine National Park was established on the coastal region in the south of the city . Around Malindi, the Italian coastal tourism is concentrated in Kenya, which became known among other things through the large investments of the Italian sports manager Flavio Briatore . Malindi has long served as a money laundering facility for the Mafia . The only consulate was set up for the Italian community living in the city.

Attractions

• Ruined city of Gedi : 14th to 16th centuries, 15 kilometers south
• Malindi Marine National Park (marine life, coral reefs)
• Portuguese Church
• Vasco da Gama stone cross
• Mambu village

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Kenya Meteorological Department: Malindi Climate Information. World Meteorological Organization, accessed October 27, 2012 . 
2. ↑ Malindi (Kilifi, Coastal Kenya, Kenya) - Population Statistics, Charts, Map, Location, Weather and Web Information. Retrieved July 19, 2020 . 
3. ↑ Ben Sanga: Malindi airport project stalls due to red tape. Business Daily December 31, 2008
4. ↑ Brian Dabbs: Kenyans See the Italian mafia's hand in Worsening Drug Trade. The Atlantic, July 30, 2012

Web links

Commons : Malindi  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Gerald Steyn: Malindi, Kenya - The Resilience of an Ancient African Architectural System. Department of Architecture, Pretoria 2003 (PDF file; 712 kB)
• Malindi.info private German site with tourist information