The Ruins of Gedi · The Town the Jungle Swallowed

Gedi was a Swahili town on the East African coast, built of coral stone, with a palace, a mosque, wells and a wall. It was abandoned entirely around the seventeenth century, then swallowed by the jungle, and was only dug out again in the twentieth century.

Why it was abandoned is not settled: a drying up of the water, an outside enemy and plague have all been proposed. The coins recovered came from Venice and from Ming China.

Local people say there is “an old man who walks” among the ruins, and that you must keep to the rules when you go in. The sign at the entrance says only one thing: do not stay after sunset.

Haunted Ruins / Malindi · Kenya / 13th century