This was not strictly a MrO trip as I was travelling with an old friend, now an African History Professor, to visit the Kenyan, Tanzanian and Zanzibar Swahili coasts for research purposes and I was the official photographer.
The trip took place in July with us starting in Kenya, then flying onto Tanzania and then onwards to Zanzibar, this flight is a story in itself.
The guise for the trip was for Harmony to conduct some research of the Swahili coast, slave trade and the gender relationships and interactions with the environments and architecture. I provided a visual documentation of the trip and some company.
Kenya (Mombasa to Malindi)
We visited a number of ruins along this coast though in truth the first few days were just acclimatising and learning Swahili – of which I have a few favourite words.
- Pole pole = slowly (something we all need to do in Africa & life!)
- Lala salaam = sleep peacefully
- Mchunga = sandy – and now my African name
Hiring a car locally was an experience as it bucked the European trends of heaps of paperwork, security deposits and the like, on the contrary there was no paper work just the cash (8000 shillings for 2 days) I wasn’t even asked for a driving licence and they kindly threw in some whiskey glasses as an added bonus.
We drove north to Malindi and then on to the Marafa depression, the tar roads were largely in good repair and we were never harassed by police/check points. As with other a large parts of Africa there was significant evidence of Chinese infrastructure projects, thankfully one of the ruins which we visited narrowly escaped being ruined by development. The purpose of the trip up the coast was to visit a number of ancient sites with a side trip to the Marafa depression or ‘Hells Kitchen’ which had received a recommendation from one of the locals. This was certainly a highlight as the geography was stunning having been carved out by wind and water exposing the earth’s strata in a kaleidoscope of colour. A good reason to return again in the future and enjoy a sunset and evening in the gorge.
Of the ruins that we visited Gede ruins were some of the steamiest and most impressive. Not only was this site frequented by tourists it was great to see a number of school groups exposed to this part of their history. The site was substantial and that was only what we could see of it, there still lies many ruins in the surrounding forest that have never been excavated, some of the excavations we 6 feet deep giving a real sense how ancient and forgotten this site previously was. The Palace at the centre gave a good sense of the class and gender systems in place.
A trip to Kenya is not complete without a visit to Fort Jesus and the Old Town of Mombassa especially if you are an African History Professor. Once again we had a hugely engaging guide who patiently answered our (mostly Harmony’s) questions and then led us through the warren of back alleys that is the Old Town.
The remainder of our days in Kenya were writing notes, editing photos and enjoying our time next to the ocean, life could be worse.
misteroverland 