Coastal Museums

Colonial and Swahili history in Mombasa

Fort Jesus has sweated over the sultry port of Mombassa since 1593 and now looks like an old, crumbling sugar cube. Built by the Portuguese to protect their trade routes to India, the fort finally fell to Omani Arabs in 1698(having been in and out of their control nine times). As things were hotting up, Portuguese general Luis de Mello Sampaio piloted a fleet into the port and lost it. Bad luck for the Portuguese, but good for tourism, for the wreck of the San Antonio de Tana provides the main attraction in the Fort's museum.

An hour's drive up the coast takes you to the 12th-century Swahili settlement of Gede. The place has got a touch of the Indiana Jones about it, as it's been hidden in dense forest since the 17th century. The demise of this once-flourishing settlement remains a mystery: possible factors include a falling water table and the Galla, a marauding Somali tribe. The history adds another dimension to what might otherwise be just another sandy beach - not that there's anything wrong with sandy beaches.

www.museums.or.ke

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