Gede Ruins — Attraction in Watamu ward

Gedi Ruins is a Gem!

Everything you've learnt about civilization especially in Africa, needs to be revisited. Gedi Ruins tells a different story in regards to how cities were planned and built. The level of workmanship, architectural detailing and understanding of how to design their buildings was way ahead of its time!

The water well near the mosque. Water could be drawn and used for cleaning oneself before entering the mosque to worship, then relying on percolation, water would filter back into the well, a continuous system that ensured none was wasted and the water was recycled.

The mosque itself had an area built into the wall where the person leading the prayer would speak into thus amplifying the sound!

The palace... An air cooling system akin to the AC was installed at the entrance area where guests waited before being ushered in to see the king. It made use of underground water combined with air blown into and out of holes dug into the ground.

There exists a hand washing basin installed that existed in the 15th Century!

I was surprised at how money was developed into the paper money as well as the cashless system we now enjoy... From barter trading, cowrie shells, coins with holes in them, etc.

These and so much more rich history awaits you on your visit to the place.

Needless to say, no local would cut a baobab tree willingly. So be sure to ask the guides about this saying, "Kila shetani na mbuyu wake" (Swahili), or "Every devil has its own baobab tree". Needless to say Gedi ruins has some interesting stories in regard to those who defied this saying.

The guides are friendly, knowledgeable about the place and will be glad to answer your questions.

I only wish I had visited the place earlier in the day and...

For Kenya it is slightly below average. I’ve been to the National Museum in Nairobi and it’s 3.5 star. In Lamu, I have went to an Oman funded Fort Lamu and that is 4 star.

Gede is rough due to funding so you can walk everywhere without restriction. The guide (tip based 500-1000 KES) with two masters and will get his PhD in archaeology, he said they cleaned up 20% of the site so the majority of 45 acres is untouched.

There is NOT a lot of information so a guide might be nice. They have the royal palace, the mosque with a huge roof made of corral that has degraded to nonexistent but there is a 1 ton piece laying around.

There are old school toilets (pitrene) that it a huge hole that would be cleaned out in past times every few months — while washing areas would be cleaned out less frequently. The prime existence was 1100-1300 AD (I think I heard him say that and might have been abandoned by 1500-1700s). They don’t know why but the guide suggests lack of fresh water (since the wells would fill with salt water if they dug deeper) but also could be colonialism and fighting.

Log in for a ticket could take 10-30 minutes bc the internet is slow. They prefer credit card or online ticket purchase but cash is last ditch. So if you can, pre buy before driving here.

Total time to see the area is 45 - 60 minutes. Note I rode a “bikebike” motorbike that took an hour plus for 2500 KES round trip. A private car is 4000 each way but if you negotiate and ride BOTH ways, you might be able to get it for 5000 KES ($40). That should take 30 minutes plus. The matatu (privately owned but called a public bus) is closer...

First things first, getting in can be a confusing process. You'll need an e-citizen account as well as Mpesa if you want entry to be seamless. Don't worry if you don't have both of these, though, as there are local guides who will be happy to get you in using their details and then take cash from you - it's recommended you do take shillings with you for this part. It's not a quick process even via the guides, however once it's all sorted, you can go in and have a look. The guides are totally optional but you might find value in being taken around and given some history, just be aware they'll expect a tip at the end. The ruins themselves are well worth the trip. There's a foreboding atmosphere, and it's definitely a creepy place, especially around sunset. There are various monkey gangs wandering the grounds, but they are not aggressive towards humans and won't try to take your stuff (unless it's food, perhaps). The overgrowth adds to the atmosphere, and some of the trees are absolute giants. The only downside for me was that some people have decided to graffiti up parts of the ruins. Hopefully they can stop this behaviour. Overall, it's well worth a visit to soak the place in, and expect to spend 30-60 minutes here, depending on how much you...