Historical & Cultural Attractions in East Africa
East Africa is endowed with a variety of historical and cultural sites. Each country boasts of a rich history dating back many centuries.
The sites found in Kenya include Gedi ruins in Malindi, Fort Jesus in Mombasa, Koobi fora in Turkana all of which have been named world heritage sites; others include an estimated 400 prehistoric sites, slave trade settlements, Islamic ruins and petrified forests.
Crossing over to the largest of the East African countries, Tanzania we find the Olduvai Gorge, The National Museum of Dar es Salaam, Bagamoyo Unesco world Heritage site, Ujiji Cultural Centre, Sukuma Museum, The Amboni Caves and Hot Springs, the Tongoni Ruins, the National Museum of Zanzibar, the Arab Fort, Livingstone’s House, Mangapwani Slaves Caves, the Maruhubi Palace, the Old Slave Market and the People’s Palace.
Uganda is not to be left out as it also has plenty to be proud of namely The Uganda National Museum in Kampala; The Namugongo Martyrs Shrine, Kabaka Mwanga’s Lake, The Kakoro Rock Paintings, Kamukazi, The Kasubi Tombs, Masaka Hill, The Mparo Tombs, Mubende Hill, The Munsa Earthworks, Numagabwe Cave among others.
Here is a description of a few of these sites.
Fort Jesus
This land mark within the island of Mombasa was built in 1593 by the Portuguese acting as a guard of the old port found here. An aerial view reveals its manly ship which characterizes it architectural design. The fort changed hands nine times in contests over the control of the Mombasa by nations such as the Portuguese, Arabs, and British who used it to house prisoners until 1958 when they converted it to a historical monument.
Gedi Ruins
Image by Mgiganteus
Once a Swahili town between the 13th and 17th century located at a village known as Gedi near the coastal town of Malindi, the ruins comprise of a palace, mosques, tomb stones and large stone houses.
The town was temporarily abandoned in the 16th century due to unknown reasons with speculations suggesting that reprisal from Mombasa following orders by Nuno da Cunha who believed that the people of Malindi assisted in the destruction of Mombasa, resulting from this was the evacuation of the inhabitants. The area was however reoccupied by the nomadic Oromo tribe of Somalia in the late 16th century and later abandoned it in the 18th century.
The name Gedi or Gede is a Galla word meaning “precious” which is believed to be either the name of the town or the name of the last Galla leader to camp there. Kilimani is another name for the village according to the Quelman of the Bertholet map. The area was declared a national park in 1948 and has since drawn interest from tourists of all walks of life.
Koobi Fora
Superbly situated on the Eastern shores of the largest lake in the region i.e. Lake Turkana the ridge derives its name from the Gabbra people of the region meaning a place of commiphora and the source of myrrh. It is an outcrop of mainly Pleistocene sediments comprising clay stones, siltstones, and sandstones that preserve numerous fossils of terrestrial mammals, including early hominid species and as such has been of great importance in the excavations of fossils significant to the human evolution theory.
In numerous numbers are the non humanoid fossils which have also been discovered shedding light in the flora and fauna as ancient as the Miocene. This led to the reservation of the region by the government in 1973 naming it Sibiloi National park establishing a headquarters for the National museums of Kenya on Koobi Fora Spit.
A number of universities across the globe have formed a project referred to as Koobi Fora Research Project (KFRP) whose aim is to carry out exploration and excavation of the region.
Olduvai Gorge
Image by D-Gordon-Robertson
Commonly referred to as the cradle of mankind, this steep sided ravine is located in the Great Rift Valley East of Serengeti plains and measures 30miles long and 295ft deep. It is one of the most significant prehistoric sites in the world especially due to the aid in furthering the understanding the theory of human evolution.
Discovered by a German entomologist named (Wilhelm) Kattwinkel who accidentally stumbled upon the gorge during one of his expeditions, the gorge comprises of an erosion-created rift with layer after layer of fossils, bones and ancient artifacts.
Excavation work at this anthropologist’s paradise was pioneered in 1931 by Louis and Mary leaky with other anthropologists carrying on the work into the 21st century.
To this day studies have shown that millions of years ago the site where the gorge lies was once a large lake with volcanic ash covered shores however due to seismic activity the nearby streams were diverted cutting down into the sediments revealing 7 main layers in the walls of the gorge.
Bagamoyo Unesco World Heritage Site
Image by GeirKiste
Stories have been told of the fate that most Africans faced in the hands of slave traders and Bagamoyo is living proof of these atrocious events. It’s location along the Indian Ocean and the fact that the town was a major harbor made it a favorite hub for slave traders from where they shipped the slaves to Zanzibar, a thriving slave market.
The slave route started from Ujiji to Bagamoyo. Evidence of this heinous trade includes buildings such as Caravan Serai, Von Wissman block, Old market, Customs house and the Old fort. The freedom village at the R.C. Mission premises and the RC Museum contain detailed documentation of the history of the area.
Derived from the Swahili word Bwaga moyo, the name Bagamoyo “lay down your heart” signified the last place where the would be slaves, stayed before their transfer to foreign lands. Others centers along the slave routes include Mamboya, Mpwapwa, Kilimatinde, Kwihara and Ujiji.
The heritage of Bagamoyo consists of a mixture of German colonial buildings, buildings and facilities related to the slave trade and slave route, and buildings of the merchants and financiers of Indian origin.
Kasubi Tombs
Image by not not Phil on Flickr.com
The tombs can be found on Kasubi hills a short distance from the city of Kampala. The tombs were burial grounds for the previous four Kabakas who served as kings of the Buganda kingdoms at one time and as such serves as an active religious ground within the Buganda kingdom the largest ethnic group in Uganda.
As a way to control the major roads to the palace and to provide easy escape routes incase of invasion the Baganda’s Kabakas built their palaces on strategic hills. When a Kabaka departed (as they are not believed to die) the traditional practice was to bury him in a separate site and to establish a royal shrine for his jawbone believed to have his spirit in another site; this was done by their descendants, leading chiefs, his wives, his ritual half-sister, and by a spirit medium through which the departed Kabaka (SseKabaka) communicated with his successors.
The royal tombs housed in grass thatched huts have an area behind a bark cloth curtain referred by the locals as Kibira or forest where secret ceremonies are performed. The four kabakas buried at Kasubi are namely Muteesa I (1835-1884) who pioneered followed by Basamula Mwanga II (1867-1903); Daudi Chwa II (1896-1939) and lastly Fredrick Walugembe Muteesa II (1924-1969). Their shrines are still maintained to date.
Namugongo Martyrs’ Shrine
Image by Isabelle Prondzynski
The shrine is situated 12kms north east of Kampala off Jinja road. It is viewed as an important religious and historical site in the Buganda kingdom. It is a painful reminder of how 22 Christian converts were brutally murdered following orders of the then King of Buganda kingdom Kabaka Mwanga II in 1886.
The alternative was to denounce the “white man’s religion rest they be burnt alive an alternative they chose to ignore a demonstration of their faith and commitment to Jesus Christ. Today their legacy lives on and is depicted through a steel arched structure carved in a traditional style at the place of occurrence.
The interior walls of the shrine have a superb display of fascinating artist work depicting the event where these courageous Christian became martyrs. Some of the remains of one of the great martyrs Kaloli Lwanga have been preserved in a glass and placed in the center of the shrine.
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