The Historic Town and Archaeological Site of Gedi

Swallowed by coastal forest, the ruined city of Gedi kept its secrets for centuries: coral-stone mosques, palaces and houses with sophisticated wells and cisterns, built by a Swahili community that prospered from the 10th to the 17th century. Finds from China and Persia unearthed among the walls attest to Indian Ocean trade reaching deep across the sea. Gedi became Kenya's newest UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2024, a haunting counterpart to the living towns of the coast.