Malindi

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Malindi

Malindi (once known as Melinde) is a town on Malindi Bay at the mouth of the Galana River, lying on the Indian Ocean

Indian Ocean

The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering about 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by Asia ; on the west by Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and Australia; and on the south by the Southern Ocean ....
coast of Kenya

Kenya

The Republic of Kenya is a country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia to the north, Somalia to the northeast, Tanzania to the south, Uganda to the west, and Sudan to the northwest, with the Indian Ocean running along the southeast border....
. It is 120 kilometres northeast of Mombasa

Mombasa

Mombasa is the second largest city in Kenya, lying on the Indian Ocean. It has a major Seaport and an international airport. The city is the centre of the coastal tourism industry....
. The population of Malindi is 117,735 (in 1999 census). It is the capital of the Malindi District

Malindi District

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Encyclopedia

Malindi (once known as Melinde) is a town on Malindi Bay at the mouth of the Galana River, lying on the Indian Ocean

Indian Ocean

Kenya

Mombasa

Malindi District

Malindi District is an districts of Kenya in the Coast Province of Kenya. Its Capital is the coastal town of Malindi. The district has a population of 544,303 ....
.

Tourism is the major industry in Malindi. The city is exceptionally popular among Italian tourists. Malindi is served with a domestic airport and a highway between Mombasa and Lamu

Lamu

Lamu town is the largest town on Lamu Island, which in turn is a part of the Lamu Archipelago in Kenya.Lamu town is also the headquarters of Lamu District and a World Heritage Site....
. The nearby Watamu

Watamu

Watamu is a seaside resort on the Indian Ocean coast of Kenya. It lies on a small Headlands and bays, between the Blue Lagoon and Watamu Bay. Its main industries are tourism and fishing....
resort and Gedi Ruins (also known as Gede) are located south of Malindi. The mouth of the Sabaki River

Athi-Galana-Sabaki River

Athi-Galana-Sabaki River is the second longest river in Kenya . It has a total length of 390 km, and drains a basin area of 70,000 km?....
lies in northern Malindi. The Watamu and Malindi Marine National Parks form a continuous protected coastal area south of Malindi. The area shows classic examples of Swahili architecture

Swahili architecture

Swahili architecture is a style of building along the eastern and southeastern coasts of Africa. Though essentially of Arabic or Persian style and origin; archaeological, written, linguistic, and cultural evidence also suggests strong African influence and sustainment....
.

Malindi is home to the Malindi Airport

Malindi Airport

Malindi Airport is an airport in Malindi, Kenya .Airlines and destinations*Airkenya *Kenya Airways External links ...
, and Broglio Space Port

San Marco platform

The San Marco Platform is a spaceport platform on an old oil platform near Kenya, developed in the 1960 through a partnership between the Centro Ricerche Aerospaziali at the University of Rome La Sapienza and NASA to serve as a launch pad for Italy spacecraft....
.

History

Malindi has been a Swahili settlement since the 14th century. Once rivaled only by Mombasa

Mombasa

Mombasa is the second largest city in Kenya, lying on the Indian Ocean. It has a major Seaport and an international airport. The city is the centre of the coastal tourism industry....
for dominance in this part of East Africa, Malindi has traditionally been a port

Port

||-||-|-||-||-||-||-||-||-|}A port is a facility for receiving ships and transferring cargo. They are usually found at the edge of an ocean, sea, river, or lake....
city for foreign powers. In 1414, the town was visited by the fleet of the Chinese

China

China is a Culture of China, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
explorer Zheng He

Zheng He

Zheng He , was a Hui people China mariner, exploration, diplomat and fleet admiral, who made the voyages collectively referred to as the travels of "Eunuch Sanbao to the Western Ocean" or "Zheng He to the Western Ocean", from 1405 to 1433....
. 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

Vasco da Gama

D. Vasco da Gama, 1st Count of Vidigueira was a Portugal in the Age of Discovery, one of the most successful in the European Age of Discovery and the commander of the first ships to sail directly from Europe to India....
met Malindi authorities in 1498 to sign a trade agreement and hire a guide for the voyage to India

India

Coral

Corals are marine organisms from the class Anthozoa and exist as small sea anemone?like polyps, typically in colonies of many identical individuals....
pillar

Column

File:National Capitol Columns - Washington, D.C..jpgA column in structural engineering is a vertical structural element that transmits, through physical compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below....
. In 1499 the Portuguese established a trading post in Malindi which served as a resting stop on the way to and from India

India

India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, the List of countries by population country, and the most populous liberal democracy in the world....
. 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.

Many traditional buildings

Swahili architecture

Palace

A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop....
on the beach

Beach

File:MiamiSouthBeachPanoramaEdit.jpgA beach is a geology landform along the shoreline of a body of water. It usually consists of loose particles which are often composed of Rock , such as sand, gravel, shingle beach, pebbles, or cobble....
, a stretch popular with tourists.

Local governance

Malindi forms a municipal council with the following thirteen wards: Barani, Ganda/Mkaumoto, Gede

Gede

Gede is a village on the Indian Ocean coast of Kenya, lying south of Malindi and north of Watamu. The Ruins of Gedi are located there. Although not thought to be mentioned in historic sources, extensive ruins of a former port have been dated to the thirteenth century or earlier, including a tomb with a date corresponding to 1399, until at l...
, Gede North, Gede South, Kijiwetanga, Madunguni, Malimo, Malindi Central, Malindi North, Maweni, Shella, Watamu Town

Watamu

Watamu is a seaside resort on the Indian Ocean coast of Kenya. It lies on a small Headlands and bays, between the Blue Lagoon and Watamu Bay. Its main industries are tourism and fishing....
. All of them are located within Malindi Constituency

Malindi Constituency

Malindi Constituency is an Constituencies of Kenya in Kenya. It is one of two constituencies in Malindi District.Members of Parliament ...
.

The mayor of Malindi is Mohamed Menza.

Malindi is also one of four administrative divisions

Divisions of Kenya

|||}The Districts of Kenya of Kenya are divided into 262 Division . Divisions of Kenya are further subdivided into Locations of Kenya. The divisions are listed below, by district:...
in Malindi District. It has the following eight locations

Locations of Kenya

|||}Locations are a type of administrative region in Kenya. Location are a fourth level subdivision below Provinces of Kenya, Districts of Kenya and Divisions of Kenya....
: Chakama, Ganda, Gede, Goshi, Jilore, Langobaya, Malindi and Watamu.