Jumba La Mtwana, Kenya
A huge baobab tree dominates the ruins of the village known as Jumba la Mtwana, its branches reaching out for the sky. Judging by the girth of the tree trunk, it could easily be a thousand years old. The name Jumba la Mtwana means 'the large house of the slave' but, in the absence of written records, it is impossible to tell whether this was the village's rightful name seven centuries ago. The excavation of the site by James Kirkman in 1972 yielded that Jumba La Mtwana was built c.1350 and abandoned about a century later. There are more questions than answers about life in this picturesque little village by the ocean. It must have been a beautiful village in its time.
The main mosque stands by a white crystal beach against which light turquoise waters dance and ripple, catching the brilliance of the golden sun. The mosque is large with a beautiful mihrab (a niche showing the direction of Mecca) in the north wall. There are no roofs on of the buildings - only the old coral stone walls are left standing. For the past 2,000 years people from as far away as the Arabian Peninsula, Persia and even India have sailed down the East African coast. The earliest documented proof is in the 'Periplus of the Erythrean Sea', a guide to trade and navigation written by a Greek traveller in the year 2 AD. At the time, travel was determined by seasonal winds. If sailors failed to set sail on time, they would have to wait at least six months for the next window of opportunity. As a result, many settlements like Jumba la Mtwana sprang up along the coast. Many an Arab sailor found the new land good and settled down, marrying a local Bantu woman and introducing his faith here. The Jumba la Mtwana ruins are situated near Mombasa-Mtwapa on Kenya's North coast.
In addition to the ruins, you may see many interesting species of birds, butterflies and other insects.
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